A Nightmare Fulfilled
by WhizkidHV
Summary: In which a fanfiction writer wakes up to the sight of undead monsters, almost dies since he's not a special snowflake, meets the Shepherds, and then proceeds to exploit the ever living crap out of dark magic to become the STRONGEST HERO! ...though that last part might be debatable.
1. In which our hero gets a running start

Chapter 1: In which our hero gets a running start.

Now I'll start off by saying that I wasn't expecting any of this, despite the fact that I had written a story about 'me' getting thrown into Fire Emblem Awakening before. Granted, that 'me' was more of an idealized self than an actual version of me, and that story was more of a train wreck than anything logical or orderly, riding on the coattails of 'rule of cool' rather than anything serious.

Anyway, while I wrote a self-insert, the 'me' in that story was more along the lines of how I imagined an 'ideal' version, or at the least 'uninhibited' version of myself would act. You know, the bits that would make me an unadulterated badass.

Calm, collected, aloof… all the hallmarks of a typical JRPG hero.

Not quite me, but how I would have liked to act if it was.

When it came down to it though, I was a different person… not to mention that the 'ideal' self imagined at that time had been younger and less mature than I was now.

I screamed. "…And just how the hell is this monologuing helping me?!"

My heart was racing. My palms were sweaty. My legs were shaking.

The reason for that would be that I had fallen asleep thinking about how to fix my previous Fire Emblem story, only to wake up in a forest clearing.

A forest clearing on fire with lava spewing everywhere and undead crawling around.

I wanted to stop. I wanted to just lie down and pretend that this was all just a nice dream and that when I died I would wake up and it would be all over and I would be back in my nice cozy home so I could get back to programming and drinking coffee and all the nice ordinary things in my life.

Of course, doing that would mean letting the reanimated corpses behind me catch up and, dream or not, I was not about to let myself be torn apart, stabbed, or suffer any other sort of bodily harm.

"Think… of yourself less and… keep moving forward. Hah… that's right. Just… think less… and keep moving forward. Don't worry… about the Risen slowly but surely… catching up behind you. Nope. Don't… think about them at all. Just- FUCK!"

A geyser of lava gushed out from the ground, bringing with it searing heat and flames.

I jumped back, narrowly avoiding death by lava, and spun my head to look for a direction to keep sprinting, any direction that was free of zombies or other deadly things that I would much rather have stayed only in my imagination.

That thought, my only hope, was mercilessly crushed when I saw a pair of eerie red eyes in every direction.

Now, you might be wondering why I was running from the Risen instead of fighting like apparently every other person who got tossed in the Fire Emblem universe.

Well, the answer for that could be summed up in three main points.

One: they were usually with the Shepherds by then. I wasn't.

Two: they usually had some special ability that evened the odds, like being able to use magic from the get go or something like that. I didn't.

Three: they didn't have to worry about the world being set ablaze around them which, if they were caught in it, would turn them into a nice, outworld steak for the undead, while I DID!

I took another glance around, scrambling my mind for any way out of this.

I was in a wooded area. Trees were in every direction, only a few feet apart, as I didn't have the good fortune every other damned self insert had of ending up on an open field or in a forest clearing.

It was a miracle in and of itself that I didn't trip- No, that's a lie. I'd tripped dozens of times in my frantic flight, and my torn jeans and t-shirt were proof of it. That, along with the blood from the scrapes I got from my spontaneous greetings with the tremulous terrain.

That lava geyser was still going on behind me, and I could feel my back starting to blister from the heat. Thankfully, the adrenaline rush was keeping the pain in check for the moment.

"Grraghha…"

A growl from the Risen drew my thoughts back to the situation at hand.

Directly in front of me, only a few yards away, there were three. All of them held axes, cumbersome looking things.

Of course, that hadn't stopped them from chasing after me for the past… however long it had been since I woke up.

To my left, there were four. Those were further away, at least ten yards, but they were armed with bows and a full quiver of arrows.

To my right, there was only a single Risen, but it was a mage, judging from the book in its right hand.

"Of all the… dammit, whatever. I'm not going to die here."

Running forward would get me cut apart into bits.

Running left would get me a death by arrows, like that person in the new Fire Emblem trailer.

Running behind would leave me a crispy outrealm steak for the risen.

Running right… well, it would probably get me zapped, cut into bits by wind, or burned, but I'd rather risk uncertain death than certain death.

I let out a breath.

The Risen hadn't moved. Of course, they didn't need to. Even with the minimal intelligence they had, they could see I was cornered.

I didn't have a weapon. My clothes were just clothes. I didn't know magic. My body had been run ragged already from my mad dash through the woods.

It was obvious. They were the predators, and I was prey. I had no way out, and while I might be frantic, they had all the time in the world to get me.

"…Fuck it."

I took a deep breath, what might be my last, and then shot off to my right towards the single Risen.

I heard an eerie chorus of growls, followed soon after by the sound of bows being cocked.

My chest clenched at the thought of being filled with arrows, but I kept running and pushed that fear aside.

The adrenaline probably helped with that. It was meant for fight or flight after all, and right now I needed to _RUN_.

My vision narrowed to what was in front of me, the life-or-death situation forcing my brain to process only the information necessary to survive.

The Risen mage had lifted its hand, fire gathering in an outstretched palm.

In the corner of my eye, I saw the Risen armed with axes rushing towards me, chopping down trees with their axes as they did in a show of monstrous strength.

-I was going to die.

There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I was already tired. My legs were already on the verge of giving up.

And, unlike the 'me' in the self-insert story I had previously written, I knew for a fact I was ordinary. No magic sword to help me, no magic to help me, no superpowers granted by beings from another plane…

That thought was the last straw.

I had been thrown into a forest on fire with lava geysers spewing everywhere, forced to run for my life the moment I woke up, and chased by undead monsters with superhuman strength.

The fatigue and fear I had been pushing away returned full force, and my legs gave out from under me.

I fell to the ground.

Not a second later, a flurry of arrows flew through the air where I had just been standing.

I scrambled to my feet, the close call snapping me back into action.

Looking back at the Risen mage, I couldn't believe my luck.

It was dead. Against all odds, the arrows that had been aimed at me had continued on their path and killed the only one left in my way.

I didn't wait around.

My body was tired, and my lungs were run ragged from the smoke and sprinting I had been doing, but that realization was enough to give me one final burst of energy.

I broke out into a dead sprint. Past the fading Risen mage. Past the trees.

I ran, and ran, and ran, hoping against all odds that my luck would hold and that I wasn't just running into another horde of Risen.

My breath came out in ragged gasps, my legs had gone beyond burning from the pain to a numbed cool sensation, and my vision was slowly getting dim.

But the trees were thinning, and I could hear the sound of clashing steel up ahead.

Clashing steel… the Shepherds?

The thought, the faint hope kept me conscious, kept me from embracing the encroaching darkness and fatigue.

The sound was getting closer, or rather I was getting closer to the sound.

One final surge of energy. I dug deep, running as fast as I could to make it before whoever was fighting left and I lost my last hope to stay alive in this world.

A flash of blue, golden steel, and then black smoke.

It was a single person. Blue hair, matching tunic, and a familiar golden sword in his… her hand.

Not the Shepherds, but I'd take it.

"Who goes there!"

Lucina, or at least I hoped it was Lucina, turned towards me, Falchion poised to stab.

I was sure that it was meant to be intimidating, and under any other circumstances, I would have stopped.

Instead, I collapsed to my knees and cracked a weary smile.

"Thank… god…"

And with that, I gave up the fight to stay awake.

* * *

"…seems creatures… thanks to…"

A voice.

"…Never got… you for before. Very…"

Scratch that, voices.

I focused, cobbling together the pieces of my consciousness the best I could.

"…This world… calamity. What you saw… been warned."

People were talking nearby. Not only that, but the bits and pieces of the conversation I heard seemed familiar.

"Not much for conversation, is he?"

-There. A full sentence. The blackness surrounding me was beginning to fade.

"It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again… But for now I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste-"

It was a deep voice that spoke. Gruff, no-nonsense.

"But what about him? Chrom, we can't just leave him here!"

That voice was female.

"Milady, we don't know-"

That voice again, the gruff one.

"Frederick. He's coming with us."

This voice was different. Calm, regal… if you could describe a voice that way.

"Milord! Once is foolhardy enough, but to take up yet another-"

"And what would you have me do, Frederick? Leave him for dead? You heard Marth. If he hadn't found the man when he did…"

A sigh. "What kind of Shepherd would I be if I ignored this?"

My eyes snapped open.

A startled man with white hair stared back.

"Er… hello there?" The man, who I was sure was Robin from both his hair and the familiar tactician cloak, gave me a small wave.

I laughed.

I couldn't help it. After all I had been put through, after running for my life and barely avoiding death several times…

I was safe.

"Hey… Robin…"

His eyes grew wide. "You know me?"

I laughed again. It was just… I didn't know why, but I just felt giddy.

It was strangely out of character, but hey, I was alive.

"Well, milord, it appears that your latest lost lamb is not as helpless as you thought him to be if he is in such good cheer moments after waking."

I turned towards the voice and was met by a stern gaze from Frederick.

The knight was just like he was in the game. Brown hair, a no-nonsense look and wearing full armor with his arms crossed behind his back… he was about as intimidating as people could be.

To his left was Chrom. Like Frederick, Chrom looked every bit the same as he did in the game. Granted, he wasn't all anime-esque, but there was no mistaking the brand on his shoulder, his blue hair, his awesome over the shoulder cape, and, most of all, the Falchion sheathed at his side.

Next to him was Lissa. Blonde, hair in outrageous curls even now, and a yellow outfit as bright as her sunny disposition… yep. That was Lissa.

And behind those three, off in the distance a bit… was that Sully kicking Virion in the face?

…Yep. That it was.

I laughed again.

Chrom smiled and walked towards me. "It's good to see you in good cheer, friend."

I couldn't get rid of the smile on my face, even with Frederick's death glare staring at me.

Likewise, I couldn't help the words I said either. "And it's good to see you, Chrom. Thank god… I thought I wasn't going to make it back there."

"Oh? So you know who I am then?"

"Of course I know who you… are?"

It was at that point that logic caught up with my relief and I realized the situation I was in.

Of course, luck would have it that my mouth kept running in the meanwhile.

"…Well shit."

Chrom blinked. "Excuse me?"

I heard Lissa giggle and saw Frederick reach for his sword.

"Er… sorry about that. It's just…"

 _Quick, think of a reasonable excuse!_

"…you wouldn't happen to know where I am, would you?"

Frederick sighed. "Yet another amnesiac? And one who knows milord, but not of this kingdom?"

"Hey, I'm being serious here! One second I'm asleep, and the next thing I know I wake up in a forest, the world seems to be ending, and the dead have risen from the earth!"

I didn't need to fake the exasperation or irritation in my voice.

Chrom raised a hand towards the knight and said, "Peace, Frederick." After that, he turned towards me and said, "Before I answer you, might I have your name, friend?"

Name? Right, name. Well, seeing as I definitely don't want things to end up like they did in my fanfic since I have absolutely none of that guy's powers and plot armor, and that I might get thrown into that path if I borrow a name, I decided to stick with one I was actually called.

It was also one that kinda fit considering the circumstances.

"…Hoopa. Yes, I know it's strange, but that's what they call me."

"Hoopa… is it? A strange name, but not surprising from your foreign appearance. As for where we are…" Here he smiled and stuck out a hand. "Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ylisse."

I grabbed his hand and returned his smile with one of my own, outwardly looking like everything was right with the world.

Inwardly…

 _How the HELL am I going to stay alive here?!_

* * *

A/N: Right. So for those of you who've read my other story, I should probably explain myself. First of all, this story is a result of me reexamining A Fulfilling Nightmare and realizing that, while I like the complexity and premise behind it, it's not quite as fun to write as I thought. Granted, it's still fun, but adding too many things to a dish can make it a bit messy, you know?

There's also the fact that the 'me' in that story is different, and quite a bit so, from the 'me' I am now, so it's not as... natural? To write 'me' in that story, so I made another where it is.

Anyway, expect more light-hearted humor and typical SI hijinks here. Canon might derail a bit, but not as completely as the other one, since 'I' know better than that now that I've explored that possibility.

Also expect dramatic feats at some point where I apply the wondrous human invention known as 'programming' to the supernatural forces of 'magic'.

Anywho, hope this was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write. Reviews are welcome, but not required for this, since it's just me wanting to share my hijinks rather than a sensible story with a good plot. Granted, I'll try to hold some semblance of plot, but here we're going to go off of what I'd do at that time, at that place, with what I have.

Which, in this case, is nothing.

Joy.

Until the next!


	2. In which our hero begins his journey-

Chapter 2: In which our hero begins his journey-

-as a bullshit character, emphasis on the 'bullshitting' part

* * *

Flames crackled in the distance, casting the immediate area in a dim orange light. The smell of smoke drifted in the air, something I noticed now that I wasn't running for my life. I also noticed that the air was dry and made it difficult to swallow.

All in all, too detailed to be a dream, which meant this was reality and that I now possessed a not inconsiderable chance of dying.

In other words, I was screwed.

I could feel my stomach drop when that realization kicked in. Anxiety, something all too familiar to me, began creeping in as the full extent of my situation unfolded in my mind.

Fire Emblem Awakening took place over a time span of years, two wars, and a battle against a dragon that could be called a god.

Not only that, but NOWHERE in the world would be safe throughout that time period due to the zombie apocalypse/invasion that I had the misfortune of waking up to.

I couldn't run. I couldn't hide. I _could_ go with the Shepherds, but there was that tiny fact that I had never murdered someone in cold blood before, something I would have to do if I went that route.

Death. I could already feel its presence, and we hadn't even gotten to the end of chapter one.

"Hoopa? Are you alright?"

Chrom's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I realized that I held his hand in a deathgrip, and that my arm was shaking.

I quickly released it and let out a nervous laugh. "Ahaha... yeah. I'm fine. Just dandy. It's not like I'm at the risk of dying or anything. Nope. Not at all. I'm just stuck here in the middle of nowhere with no magic, no special powers, gotten chased by zombies- scratch that, will likely _keep_ getting chased by zombies, don't have anything to protect myself and-"

I cut myself off when I saw the concerned look Chrom was giving me.

 _So much for pretending that everything was alright._

After a moment of silence where Chrom mulled over something in his head, he said, "I can't do anything about your lack of magic and special powers, but I can assure you that you will be safe with us. The Shepherds would never let any harm come to those in need, and with Robin's masterful tactics, that is even more true than it ever has been."

Chrom stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You will be fine, Hoopa. Once we return to Ylisstol, I assure you we will do everything we can to find your way home. Trust me, everything will be alright."

Calm words, and yet they carried an undertone of confidence.

Hearing them from Chrom, and seeing his sincerity, I let out a breath and nodded. "Sorry about that."

Chrom shook his head. "It's no trouble. You've been through a lot, so it's understandable. Now we should get a move on. Daybreak is coming, and if we leave now we can arrive in Ylisstol before noon."

After Chrom reassured me, we did as he said and started our march towards Ylisstol.

Sully and Frederick went on ahead, as they were the only ones with horses. I walked alongside Chrom and Robin in the center of our group, while Lissa and Virion took up the rear of our traveling party.

The path we followed led us through the forest and eventually out into the open fields, similar to the ones that Chrom had found Robin at in the game.

Throughout that time, it remained relatively quiet save for the occassional word or two from behind us from Lissa and Virion's conversation.

Chrom seemed content to let the silence stay, either out of respect for me or otherwise, while Robin seemed too tired to do anything but walk. Understandable, considering the fact that he hadn't gotten much sleep recently due to the sudden zombie apocalypse and all.

...Then again, I felt great, and I'd been running for my life the entire night.

Anyway, as for myself, well I didn't mind the silence, and used the time to do some thinking.

My backstory remained a mystery so far, at least to the Shepherds, since we set off in a march immediately after Chrom's reassuring words, and no one had questioned me since then.

Granted, part of that might have been due to coming down from the adrenaline rush from fighting the undead and immediately going into a boring trek across the country, but the fact remained that I needed to get my story straight before any probing questions came my way.

Like-

"Say, Hoopa," Robin said. "I don't mean to pry, but when you woke up after Marth brought you to us you seemed to know who I was."

-say Robin asking about how I knew him.

 _Crap._

Chrom nodded. "Ah, that's right. You do seem to be a bit familiar with our resident tactician, Hoopa. Would you care to tell us how that came about?"

"Er, right. About that..."

 _Lie? Tell the truth? I suck at lying, but telling the truth isn't much better in this case... Maybe a part of it?But then if they find out I wasn't telling the whole truth later... and Frederick is suspicious enough as it is. Don't want to get booted out just because of that. And then there's the whole fact that I don't know if Outrealms exist or not here and-_

"Hoopa." Robin's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Is it... that bad?"

 _Double crap._

"No, no! It's nothing bad, I promise!"

I couldn't let Robin get the wrong idea... even though his background technically *is* pretty bad.

"It's just... how should I explain this...?"

 _Think, man! You're a writer! Make something up!_

"Robin is the name of a pretty famous tactician from where I'm from, and you looked a bit like him, so I got confused."

 _Aaand that's a pretty crap story if I ever heard one._

Chrom laughed. "Well it's an honor to have such an esteemed tactician with us then!"

Robin frowned. "A famous tactician? Me...?"

"No, that's not- Er... well, maybe? The Robin I know of was said to have travelled to Ylisse, but I think he was quite a bit older than you are now..."

 _Now that right there is complete bullshit... Thankfully, there was no one here to call me out on it._

I laughed. "Maybe you're named after him?"

Robin gave me a tentative nod. "I suppose so..."

This time, Chrom frowned. "Hold on. If he's said to have gone to Ylisse, how come I've never heard of this famous tactician before now?"

 _Aaand Chrom calls my bluff. Great. Any other outs you can think of? ...None? Well then..._

I shrugged, doing the best to keep a straight face. "I don't know. That's just what I've heard. Maybe someone made something up after seeing the real Robin in action over here. Maybe it was a prophet telling of a future to come. Maybe it was the result of a writer spending too much time reading too many fiction novels. Or maybe I'm just crazy and someone planted the idea in my head after finding me unconscious in the woods."

I rambled, letting my thoughts go wherever they wanted and hoping nothing too incriminating slipped.

Chrom shook his head. "You aren't crazy, Hoopa."

"Eh, not like it matters if I am or not, am I right? Sanity's overrated anyway, what with the dead coming back to life and all that."

Chrom actually stopped walking for a bit after hearing my words, but then laughed and clapped me on my back. "That's the spirit."

I smiled, more out of relief than anything, and nodded. "Anyway..."

I turned to Robin and shook my head. "Sorry to get your hopes up, Robin."

"No, it's alright." He gave me a small smile. "Though now I'm curious. Just how famous is this Robin back in your homeland?"

Chrom nodded. "Yes... that would be good to know. Do you mind telling us a bit about your home, Hoopa? We've still got quite a ways to go before we reach Ylisstol, and unless you want to walk in silence for the rest of it..."

He trailed off and shrugged, as if he didn't mind either way.

"Ehehe, right... Home..."

I felt sweat start to gather on my forehead. "Well, the first thing you should know is that my country's called the United States of America, and it's quite a diverse place. Has its ups and downs too, as with every other country especially with the election coming up..."

"Election?" Robin tilted his head slightly and looked off to the side, mulling over what I said. "Your country's not a monarchy?"

 _Fuck my life._

"Not... really."

This was going to be a long trip to Ylisstol...

* * *

A/N: Have some more hilarity before the year's end! Yeah, lying's not my strong point in real life, though I do have a tendency to come up with some amazing stuff when I rant and things tend to work out... we'll see how that ends up next chapter, whenever that is.

Anyway, thanks for reading, hope it was enjoyable, and see you all next year, if it isn't already where you're at.


	3. In which our hero becomes an emissary-

Chapter 3: In which our hero becomes an emissary-

-and prepares to face the royal court

* * *

Long story short, within the course of the few hours it took to reach Ylisstol, my backstory became set in stone. First of all, Chrom and Robin knew me now as a wizard-in-training of the magic that my country practiced. By magic, I meant programming, and by wizard-in-training, I meant student with a CompSci major.

In my excuse, any sufficiently advanced technology could be mistaken for magic, and, well, after a long night of debugging code only to find it miraculously working the next day it definitely seemed like magic at times.

Anyway, through my rambling, it became clear that I had been transported a long way as the states and cities I mentioned didn't ring a bell to either the tactician or the prince. By 'it became clear', I meant that my backstory checked out and I didn't need to fake amnesia, which would have ended badly due to my lack of acting skills.

"So this is Ylisstol, the capitol of Ylisse..." Robin said. "I've never seen so many people!"

Robin's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and back to the present.

When we entered the town, Sully and Virion went their separate ways, reducing our little party to just me, Robin, Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa. In other words, the canon group present in the end of the chapter plus me.

I took a look around, taking in the city for the first time.

It might seem clichéd, but the game really didn't do justice to the place. I could try to describe it, but, like the simple brief images in the game, words couldn't capture the city in its entirety.

Where we walked in, a road stretched out before us towards a town square. Past that, looking over the rest of Ylisstol, stood the palace, gleaming a soft white beneath the sunlight.

On either side of the road, I saw houses and stores crammed together. Wooden and slightly haphazard, they seemed a mark of poverty. Coupled with the lack of space and tons of people milling about with worn clothing and dust scattering everywhere, it looked like the people here lived in poor conditions.

And yet I didn't get that sense from looking at it. Far from being miserable, every person I saw had on a smile, moving here and there with energy in each step.

A merchant showing his wares burst out in booming laughter as a swordsman examined a blade. An elderly woman hummed merrily as she hung out laundry to dry. And a small girl chased a cat, bounding with the energy that young children should have, unlike the kids I knew who sat in front of computers all day.

The entire place seemed so... _alive_. Different in a way then back home. There, everyone I saw looked lifeless, attentions taken by their phones or computers.

For a moment, I felt a sense of melancholy as it struck me just how much our technology had taken away if the people I saw now, people who had none of it, seemed happier then the people I knew who, in contrast, had everything.

Then I remembered that I hung around computer science majors who had a reputation for being lost in a world of their own most of the time and that melancholy disappeared.

Chrom laughed at Robin's words and said, "Considering your amnesia, I'm not surprised." The blue-haired lord took a look around and let out a relieved sigh. "It looks like our troubles haven't reached here. That's a relief."

Frederick nodded. "Indeed, milord. The capital appears to have been spared of the chaos we encountered, and there are no signs of the quake."

"All the more urgent that we get back to the palace then. Emm needs to know about what's happened as soon as possible." After saying that, Chrom clasped a hand on my shoulder and said, "It would also do good to get our new emissary acquainted with his lodgings and a fresh change of clothes. Wouldn't you agree, Hoopa?"

I shook my head. "Not that I hate the idea, but I still don't see why you want to make me an emissary. It's not like I'm anyone special, Chrom."

"Every citizen has equal rights and an equal say in your homeland, do they not?"

"That's not what I-"

Chrom waved off my words. "It's not exactly what you said, but that's what it essentially comes down to, am I right?"

"I guess?"

"Then according to Ylisse's own constitution, it is our duty to welcome someone as influential as you to our country as its official emissary."

"And I still say that I-"

Before I could get another word edgewise, a man said, "Look! The Exalt has come to see us!"

On reflex I turned towards where the pointed.

So whenever Emmeryn came up, people tended to write her as larger than life, carrying an aura of peace around her. Some ephemeral air that calmed the soul or something like that. Or at least I did.

In reality, Emmeryn didn't have that. Instead, she possessed something at once more real and more powerful than any imagined magical aura or spirit.

Beautiful, attractive, eye-catching... like the city, words couldn't begin to describe her. Another facet of this reality I found myself in came to light when I saw her, namely that women were frankly drop-dead gorgeous.

Her golden hair drifted softly whenever she moved, like fleeting rays of light. Her sincere smile grabbed at the heart.

I could go on with the more vain aspects, like how her bra-size must have been closer to D than to C, etc, but those features were secondary compared to what I saw her doing.

Gently kneeling to talk to children, kindly listening to those who asked for a moment of her time, gracefully accepting the tokens of gratitude from those who would give it, despite the protests of her guards.

"You said you were shepherds!"

I blinked at Robin's sudden outburst and shook my head, realizing that I had been staring. Thankfully, no one had noticed. Well, Frederick might have, since the knight seemed to notice everything, but he didn't call me out on it. _No wonder Plegians surrendered en masse after her death._

Chrom laughed at Robin's outburst and said, "And so we are, in a manner of speaking. We just have a lot of sheep."

"But you- then that means Lissa- Forgive me, Prince Chrom!"

"Just Chrom is fine. I've never been much for formalities."

Robin sighed. "Well, I suppose it makes sense why you could just declare Hoopa an emissary to Ylisse now."

"Hey, Chrom!" Lissa said. "Emm's heading back to the palace!"

The prince nodded. "Alright. Let's get going."

With that said, we headed to the palace together by following the road through the town and into the castle proper.

Once inside, Robin remained thoughtfully silent, while Lissa pestered Chrom about a few pastries she saw back in town. Frederick the Wary stood slightly behind and to the left of Chrom, arms clasped behind his back.

As for myself, I kept quiet and played follow the leader, matching strides a short distance behind Chrom. Along the way, I caught quite a few stares from people that looked like they walked out of Pride and Prejudice, but I ignored them in favor of observing the architecture.

The palace seemed to be a strange mix of towering marble pillars, ala Greek and Roman designs, with European influences, like a crap ton of stairs, chandeliers, and essentially what I imagined a mansion from Jane Austen's books would look like.

We reached the base of a stairwell leading up to a pair of double doors when Chrom waved at someone. That someone turned out to be a maid. And yes, that meant the black dress with white frills.

"Sofia, would you show Hoopa here to his chamber?"

"As you say, milord."

The maid gave a curt bow and turned towards me, letting me get a closer look at her.

I'd noticed it earlier, but the people here seemed to have a mix of European and Asian features, giving them an ambiguous and, for the most part, attractive appearance. In terms of historical development, that probably resulted from the fact that this world wasn't Earth, and so ethnicities were different.

The people I'd seen so far, including the Shepherds, tended towards the European side, but the maid that Chrom called over tended towards the Asian side.

Her hair-color was strictly European, a soft auburn color not uncommon around here that she kept pinned in a severe bun, but her eyes, the same color as her hair, were rounder, a bit more almond shaped than not.

A minor fact, but one that made me feel a strange sense of kinship.

...Part of that might have been because I was the only Asian-looking guy among an entire population where I stuck out like a sore thumb, and not just because of my clothes.

And then I remembered that Chrom said for her to show me to my room and I turned my attention back to him. "Wait, chamber? What chamber?"

Chrom smiled. "How else would you expect us to treat a foreign emissary?"

"But how did-?"

Here Chrom shrugged and tilted his head a bit towards his ever-present knight. "You'll have to thank Frederick for that. He insisted on it."

I stared at the knight, trying to figure out when and where he had the time to get a message to the palace.

An enigmatic smile met my confused look.

"Milord," Sofia said. "The emissary's bath will soon be cold if it's kept out any longer."

Chrom nodded. "Right. Sofia will lead you to your chambers, Hoopa. Go relax, get changed, and I'll send someone to get you when it's time to present you to court, alright?"

That suggestion brought how tired I felt to the foreground and I couldn't find it in myself to resist. Part of me was curious to see if the interaction between Robin and Emmeryn was the same, but a bath sounded awfully tempting at that moment.

In the end, I found myself following Sofia down the palace halls. The maid remained silent the entire time, head bowed and maintaining a distance between us that reinforced the fact that I now lived in a different place and a different culture.

After leading me to my room, Sofia departed without another word, and quickly at that.

Entering it, I found the interior to be surprisingly modern. Sure the decor looked like it came from out of Jane Austen's novels (and how many time am I going to make that comparison?) but it looked comfy enough.

A four poster bed with soft blue drapes stood in the center of the room against the wall opposite the door leaving the room (which I had entered through). Directly on its left stood a sturdy table and chair with an unlit candle. And to the right side of the room was a door, which held the bathroom and bath, if the steam coming from underneath it was any indication.

There were other things I could say about the room, like how there were fancy rugs and paintings all over and the room itself was big enough to run around in the dark and not hit anything for a while, but there was a bath waiting for me.

I grabbed the set of clothes that had been laid out on top of the bed, my bed, and then got in some relaxation time with some nice and steamy water.

About five seconds into my bath, I realized the severity of the situation I found myself in, namely that I now represented an entire country and was set to meet with the ruler of another in a short while-

 _Hold on. Did Chrom mention something about a court?_

I wracked my brain and tried to remember if he did or not. _...Yep. He definitely mentioned presenting me to the court._

I groaned and closed my eyes.

 _Again. Fuck my life._

* * *

A/N: Yeah, that happened. Mostly exposition, but I tried to make it as entertaining to read as possible. It was fun to write, at least, so there's that.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review on a way out. It's much appreciated.

Anyway, until the next!


	4. In which our hero picks up Dark Magic-

Chapter 4: In which our hero picks up Dark Magic-

-for the Daft, by a familiar author

* * *

I slumped down in my chair, face pale and mind utterly exhausted.

Chrom laughed and handed me a goblet filled with wine. "Cheer up, Hoopa. You did well."

I grabbed the offered goblet and said, "Oh shut up, Chrom."

Court had been... an ordeal. I wouldn't want to bore anyone with the details, but to sum things up, it consisted of a long procession of me smiling and making small talk with people who pretended to care but didn't really give a damn, all while in a large ballroom where the nobles mingled with each other.

I really wished I had just stuck with a story of being a traveling mercenary or something. Hanging out with Robin or any of the other Shepherds would have been preferable over the stuffy and up stuck nobles.

Emmeryn laughed and said, "I would agree with my brother, Hoopa. You carried yourself quite well amongst the nobility. Many a man would have, and have, quailed before them."

I took a sip from my goblet and said, "Bah, why should I care what they think." I raised the goblet and gestured around the room. "You two are the only ones that matter here, anyway."

When the nobles had decided they made enough of an impression on the 'foreign emissary' a.k.a. me, they went home, leaving me with Emmeryn and Chrom in the room. With the formalities out of the way, Emmeryn suggested we retire to a small room for a light meal before the day was over, which is where we were now.

"If not, then there'd be other people here, right?"

"My," Emmeryn said. "You're quite fearless, aren't you, Hoopa? And to think you were found fleeing in terror from the Risen."

I blinked. _Did Emmeryn just make fun of me?_

"A braver man than I am, that's for sure," Chrom said. "Risen, I can deal with. But those 'ladies'..." Chrom shook his head. "You're going to have to teach me how you stay so calm, Hoopa."

Emmeryn hid a smile while she ate some of her food.

Speaking of food, it was about as you would expect from a medieval-esque setting. In other words, mainly bread, roasted meat, some cheese, soup, and some vegetables.

As for Emmeryn's smile, that would have something to do with the fact that Chrom had been practically mobbed by fan girls the moment court began. And, by association as his guest, as well as Emmeryn's, I'd been given similar treatment a few moments into the session.

I took another sip from my goblet, much longer this time, and tried my best to block out the rest of that time. Despite my efforts, I still ended up grumbling about "Stupid girls and their stupid fake attitudes."

I would blame the alcohol, but considering the fact that it seemed to be more juice than liquor...

"In any case," Emmeryn began. "Have you given thought on what it is you wish to do from here on out, Hoopa? We will do our best to accommodate you, but..." She trailed off and gave me a troubled look.

"Ah, you don't need to worry. I don't want to trouble you guys too much, so I'll probably only be here for a week. You're already doing a lot for me as it is."

Giving me a place to sleep, eat, and basically provide the basic benefits was more than enough in my books. Not only did they do that, but they gave me a (somewhat) high status as well, so I wouldn't have to worry about being looked down on by the nobles! ...Well, all those that mattered, anyway.

"As for my plans... well, if there's a library I could get access to, I'd be glad. The magic here is a lot different from what I was taught, so I'd like to learn more about it before I make my way home."

That, and figure out how to exploit the crap out of it so I don't end up dying when shit hits the fan within the next few weeks.

"A library, eh?" Chrom said. "You did say you were a wizard-in-training, so I suppose... Still you don't look like you'd be much good in a fight, so joining the Shepherds wouldn't be a good idea. Hm..."

...I was somewhat concerned that Chrom completely ignored my request and thought about fitting me in with the Shepherds for a bit. Did that guy only think about pulling people into his ragtag army?

Then again, that ragtag army _did_ eventually get through two wars and most of the way against a dragon/god.

Emmeryn seemed to notice my contemplation and said, "You need not worry, Hoopa. We would not expect you to fight for our country, especially after you have been so abruptly taken from your home by our plight. As for a library, there is the royal library that you may peruse. Perhaps you might find something of use in there? Sofia could show you the way tomorrow morning, if you would like."

"That would be great."

The rest of the meal went by in relative tranquility. Emmeryn mostly made small talk, while Chrom chimed in whenever he felt like it.

...I was actually pretty surprised by how relaxed the two acted around me, considering how suspicious my backstory was, but ended up attributing it to their caring personalities.

In any case, the meal ended without anything eventful occurring, and I was shown back to my room by Sofia again, who would be the one taking care of anything I needed during my stay.

Thus ended my first night in Ylisse.

* * *

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. Stone walls, a wooden window, bed draperies. The first rays of sunlight were just starting to filter in.

Confusion settled in, but then I gained my bearings and remembered where I was.

 _That's right. I'm now apparently trapped in Fire Emblem Awakening... and got pulled into being a foreign emissary at that._

I sighed and sat up in my bed.

 _What do I want to do?_

I knew the story. I knew what would happen, and could change things. With Robin here as well, I could just give him the info about the plot and let things play out, with myself far and away from any ripples that may play out.

I mean, with just that small premonition in the beginning, he managed to completely foil Validar's plans and even stop Grima, right?

 _Right. So I should probably just up and leave. Maybe head towards the Outrealm gate and see if I can find my way home._

Even if I could change things, that didn't mean I should. Robin could carry the entire team by himself. It's their story, after all, and not mine. Besides, he was plenty capable.

 _...Ignoring the fact that the average player wouldn't complete a play through without letting at least one person die. Especially on Lunatic mode, which, knowing my luck, will be exactly what the difficulty will have been locked on._

I sighed again. "...I'll think about that later. First, I need to learn some magic."

I got out of bed and started heading towards the bathroom to wash up when there was a knock at my door. "Hoopa? Are you awake?" It took me a second to recognize the voice, but then I remembered it was Chrom's.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

With my response, the door opened, and the blue-haired prince walked inside. He took a look at my disheveled appearance and frowned. "Sorry for waking you-"

"No, it's fine. I was already awake, just haven't gotten around to washing up yet."

Chrom nodded. "Well, I just wanted to check to make sure you were alright. That and to tell you that we'll be heading out to Regna Ferox soon..."

I froze. _We? But I haven't even learned magic yet! And I'm a foreign emissary now, right? What kind of place sends an emissary out to fight for- Ah. Right. Fire Emblem logic. Still..._

"...and if you need anything, just ask one of the servants. I'm sorry to leave you alone in an unfamiliar land, but with the Risen problem, the duty falls to me to ask for Regna Ferox's cooperation."

 _Oh. 'We' as in the Shepherds, not 'we' including me. Good._

"That's fine, Chrom. Ylisse's security is more important than any discomfort I'm feeling."

He frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want you to think that we're just ignoring you, especially since you were dragged into all of this by our troubles..."

I felt a stab of guilt, realizing exactly why they were being so accommodating. _Right. What with zombies falling from the sky, the fact that I got teleported from my home could easily be pinned on that._

"...I'm sure. You've done more than enough. I'm just an average person after all. There's no need for you, the prince of Ylisse, or the Exalt to go out of their way to accommodate me. I mean, I'm grateful for everything, especially giving me that emissary title and all, but really, that's enough."

 _Aaand I'm rambling. Great._

Chrom smiled. "Good. Then I will see you again in a few days. Again, if you need anything-"

"-Ask a servant. I've got it, Chrom."

He nodded and then headed off, no doubt to inform the Shepherds of their impromptu departure... which reminded me that I didn't have much time left to act. It wouldn't be long after that until Maribelle's captured, Ylisstol is invaded by Plegia, and I'll find myself in mortal peril at every turn.

"I really need to go take a look at that library."

* * *

After washing up, Sofia appeared at the door and led me to the library. I felt kind of weird being attended to like that, especially when she just popped out of nowhere the moment I had finished getting ready for the day, but I shrugged it off after a bit.

Being on a time limit with death, or worse, as the consequence tends to put your priorities in order.

In any case, she left me outside a pair of double doors, grand and ostentatious, with a small statement of having other duties to attend to.

I hesitated to open them for a second, since the room seemed far too important for someone like me to just idly walk in, but then I realized that I would look even weirder for me to be standing outside and hesitating after having been recognized by Emmeryn and Chrom as someone important.

With boldness abound as well as a healthy dose of willful abandon, I threw open the double doors and walked inside as if I owned the place.

"Aaand there's no one here. Should have expected that," I muttered.

Despite the seeming importance of the library, what with the grand double doors and all, it was surprisingly barren of people. And books.

Maybe it was just my bias from seeing entire buildings devoted to housing books, but I had been expecting more out of something called the 'Royal Library'.

Instead, what greeted me was a room only about as large as my bedroom here in Ylisse, and with shelves filling only half that space. In the other half was a stack of parchments, a few quills, and an ink bottle, all placed on a table that would fit only four people, and a single chair.

"Right. Semi-medieval setting. Only the nobles would ever need to read, so there wouldn't be much in the first place."

I sighed and started looking through the limited selection of shelves for anything that might be useful.

Ylissean law books, court rulings, history books... those were what I found as I scanned the shelves. Thankfully, they were all in English, something I had forgotten to worry about in my eagerness (and anxiety) to learn magic, but knowing Ylisse's past wouldn't help me live past the week if things kept their course.

"A single book about magic. Is that too much to ask?"

Just as I was about to give up and head out to ask someone to grab me a fire tome or something, I noticed a book lying on the ground in front of me.

It looked like it had fallen off of the top shelf on one of the book cases and had been left forgotten. A small pile of dust had gathered on top of it, obscuring the title.

 _A book lying forgotten in a room where nobody's visited in a while. Now that's not suspicious at all._

Despite the obvious signs of danger, curiosity got the better of me and I reached over to pick it up. _It's not like I have anything to lose at this point, right?_

Almost as soon as I had that thought, the book started emitting an eerie black light. Yes, black light, as impossible as that was. Something that casted illumination, yet tinged everything in darkness.

My heart raced, and not out of excitement.

 _Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap._

I couldn't move my hand away. Instead, my body was moving on its own, grasping the book and idly brushing off the dust on its cover.

-Terrifying. It was like sleep paralysis but worse. At least then you could take comfort in the fact that it was just your mind being too active for your body to catch up. This was something else entirely, the body being manipulated by forces external to its own. And the worst part of it all was that you could do nothing. _I_ could do nothing.

I could not breathe. I could not look away. I could not move or control a single aspect of my body while I grabbed that book, all processes being done automatically and without my volition.

And then I regained control, as if all of that was a nightmare. The book had even stopped giving off that weird light.

But I knew better.

"...This is a death flag, isn't it? I've just tripped the bad end, haven't I?"

There was no way in hell that ominous event was anything but bad news.

I sighed and took a look at the book, deciding to see what cursed tome I had managed to pick up. _What is it? HP Lovecraft's Grimoire? Grima's Truth? Ershkigal?_

I expected some great dark tome and what I got was-

"Dark magic for the Daft? You have got to be kidding me. A dark magic tome for dummies. That's what I picked up?"

It was a bright yellow, with a stick figure on the front cover. Question marks hovered above said figure, and the figure's head was tilted as if in deep thought.

I scowled and shoved the book into the nearest shelf I could and started walking away from it, only to find myself holding onto that same book tucked under my left arm after a few steps.

I would be scared out of my mind, that or excited, if the book had been anything else. But with what it was, I felt like the universe was mocking me.

I stopped and sighed. "Well, if they're going out of their way to give it to me, I might as well take a look, right?"

I headed over to the table and I saw when walking in and sat down. After that, I placed the book before me and opened to the first page, which was a stark contrast from the cover.

 _To the reader: If you're reading this, you have obviously learned not to judge a book by its cover. That or you are someone like me whose curiosity got the better of them and stumbled upon the 'Darke Artes'._

 _This book shall aid you along that path. My life's study, the consequences and benefits of every spell, every principle, I have recorded within._

 _Know that this road does not come without sacrifice. Knowledge may be power, and yet it is also a curse that can damn us all to a fate worse than death... one I have suffered myself._

 _Do not fall prey to my own destiny, reader. Follow these principles closely, but not blindly. Ensure that the sacrifices you make are willful, and that you are prepared to pay the price for the corresponding power._

 _Done wisely... and you may become the master of death itself._

 _May your luck be better than mine._

 _-H.P._

"H.P? As in Harry Potter?"

I didn't want to believe it, but there was that line about being the master of death in there... _Whatever. It's not like it matters, does it?_

I had a cheat sheet. Something that could help me live in this world soon to be filled with war and death. Something that could give me the power to fight, maybe even save people.

Eager to start, I flipped to the first page, titled 'Sacrifice'.

 _Some would say that the basis of dark magic is knowledge and sacrifice._

 _Dark magic is structured with knowledge and fueled with sacrifice. With enough of both, even a miracle such as reviving the dead may be done._

 _But that is the belief of ignorant wizards that know nothing better._

 _Though they are not completely incorrect, as you can indeed craft miracles with enough knowledge and sacrifice, or compensate for one with the other when casting a spell, they are wrong in believing that it is the sole basis of the 'Darke Artes' as they so call it._

 _Dark magic's operating principle is not 'sacrifice' or 'knowledge', though both are important facets of it, but rather equivalent exchange._

 _To perform a spell, know enough about its underlying workings and it can be performed with nothing more than willpower. The effort required to obtain that knowledge has given you the right to enact the mystery._

 _Barring that, sacrificing something will give you something of equivalent value. A simple example is sacrificing mana to perform a spell, such as 'Flux', to compensate for an incomplete understanding behind its principles._

 _Then again, who in this world could be expected to understand Einstein's theory of relativity?_

 _Now you might be asking what can be sacrificed, and what you can gain from it. The answer to that, I've found is... anything that you can claim. Your time, your will, your possessions, your memories. So long as it is 'yours', it is 'yours' to give up. As for what you can gain in exchange, so long as you sincerely believe the equivalence, it will be done._

 _Let's start with something simple, like a few seconds of your time for understanding a useful spell..._

* * *

A/N: So Fire Emblem Fates came out. Beat Conquest and Revelations the other day. To borrow an Undertale saying... playing through the games and hearing Azura's song fills me with determination, enough to finish this in one go.

I have a vague plotline in store for this story now, though it's still semi-fluid. Half making it up as I go along and half following an outline is my MO it seems.

Some hints at what went on in the future past have already been dropped actually, though it might require some squinting. Law of conservation of detail and all that jazz.

And so with this chapter I finally gain a 'cheat' like every other transported hero story/self-insert! Yay! Though the source seems kinda dubious...

Hope it was an enjoyable read, and leave a review if you want, or have anything to say about it. Thanks again, and until the next!


	5. In which our hero sacrifices-

Chapter 5: In which our hero sacrifices-

* * *

-his dignity among other things for power

A fragmented feeling of discontinuity. Knowledge flooded my mind, bits of information that weren't my own, but then became so.

Nausea and a slight headache accompanied it. I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths. "This...urgh... isn't what I had in mind when I wanted to learn magic..."

As suddenly as it started, the sickening sensations stopped.

Needless to say, I was relieved at that fact. I opened my eyes and then carefully avoided looking at the book I had before me that promised wondrous powers of dark magic.

"Right. Should have known dark magic was bad for your health. Urgh... I'd rather not go through something like that again."

If learning new spells meant suffering through feeling like I was thrown onto a roller coaster while suffering a migraine headache, I'd pass on learning any more.

And then I remembered that magic would be the only way I could stay alive in this world once everything almost literally went to hell.

Resignation filled me. I sighed and then turned to glare at the book before me. "Damn dark magic and your stupid prices to enact miracles. Just because I don't have the mana to cast you doesn't mean you can take the cost from my willpower instead-"

I blinked and then I _understood._

'Synthesis'. A spell that allowed for the creation of 'mysteries' through enough knowledge and/or base materials, be it mana or otherwise. A simple spell, but one infinite in the possibilities it could bring about. Something personally devised by the author of 'Dark Magic for the Daft' after discerning the prevalent pattern in countless dark spells.

It was something with infinite potential. I could already think of at least a dozen ways to use it, and at least half of those were to quickly bring me up to par in terms of combat. The problem with that was that I wasn't sure just how much leeway the spell gave me.

There was a reason Dark Magic held a reputation for being dangerous, after all, despite what 'H.P.' said in his book.

"Guess we should start with something small."

I didn't know quite yet how mana worked and if I had any or not, but I had knowledge aplenty, probably the single benefit I had as an Outrealmer from Earth.

To use 'Synthesis', all I needed was to create a 'model' of what I wanted to do. If I had enough knowledge, it would succeed. If I didn't, I would be prompted to empower it to proceed with 'mana', or whatever other source of power I had available.

The book didn't say how I would be prompted, but it should be obvious.

In any case, it should be relatively safe, especially for what I had in mind.

I grabbed a blank sheet of parchment and set it before me. After that, took a nearby bottle of ink and held it in my hand.

 _Here goes nothing..._

I closed my eyes, focusing on the way I planned to use my new spell.

Ink being dripped down onto the paper, dot by dot, line by line.

Treating the parchment as a two-dimensional grid of over a thousand pixels.

Using pseudocode in my mind to represent the coordinates of an image as a two-dimensional array.

Looping through that two-dimensional array, matching the coordinates with the parchment and making a 'point' with the ink I held in my right hand whenever I came across a non-null entry.

I imagined it happening, believed it would happen, knew that it could happen and did happen where I came from whenever a printer received a document to print or copy.

With that in mind...

"Synthesize!"

Nothing happened. No warming of my hands. No indescribable sensation of mana traveling through my body.

Nothing.

Feeling more than a bit silly for believing I could use magic, as well as the fact that such a convenient spell could exist, I let out a sigh and opened my eyes-

"No way."

-and blinked them a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

On the blank parchment was a circle. It was small, barely the size of a dime, but it was there. A bit wet as well, since the ink had yet to dry, but it was present.

It hadn't been earlier.

I couldn't believe it. Refused to believe it.

I grabbed another blank piece of parchment and prepared to cast the spell again, this time with my eyes open.

Focusing on how a printer would drip ink across a piece of paper to create an image, treating the parchment as a grid, matching each coordinate of the image I had in my mind with its correspondent pair on the piece of parchment.

That done, I said the name of the spell once more. "Synthesize!"

At first, nothing happened, and I started to wonder if I hadn't just placed the ink there myself. But then, as I stared at the parchment, a circle began to appear, line by line, as if a laser printer was writing directly on the parchment.

But there wasn't.

Instead, the ink appeared on the parchment as if it was always there, skipping the process of dripping onto the sheet and directly appearing on it.

A smile crossed my face. "...This is going to be fun."

A spell that skipped the process to return the result. That was what I had. Or rather, by defining the process in my mind, the spell allowed me to jump directly to the end product.

"But does it have to be in my mind?"

All that was required should be the knowledge of how the process worked. If I possessed it, in my mind or not, the spell should succeed. There was nothing in the book saying that it had to be internal knowledge I used, did it?

* * *

After testing various hypotheses and scenarios, I managed to determine a few things.

One, a written document of what I had in mind worked just as well, if not better due to existing in a tangible form, then imagining what I wanted to 'synthesize'.

Two, 'synthesizing' something seemed to imprint the knowledge directly into my mind if it wasn't already, which would be useful later on and prevent misremembering important facts.

Three... as cool as this all was, it didn't change the fact that I still didn't have any way to fight yet.

I sighed and leaned against the back of my chair.

"This is going to be harder than I thought."

While it was fortunate that I wasn't slotted into the role of the Shepherd's tactician, at this rate it looked like I would end up having to draft just as many plans as Robin did.

I sighed again and prepared to get out of my chair when the door to the library opened. Standing there was a young woman with blonde hair styled in cylindrical curls.

Her clothes were pink and white, a sort of frilly half cloak half shirt outfit coupled with a pink dress and matching boots.

Appearance-wise, I'd describe her as ten out of ten.

In terms of personality...

"And just who might you be?"

...I'd give Maribelle a five.

The heiress to House Themis narrowed her eyes and looked between me and the table.

The table which, while originally neat and orderly, was now covered in a chaotic mess of inked parchments carrying various shapes, words, and designs.

Oh, and that Dark magic for idiots book I found.

 _Bullshitting skills don't fail me now!_

I casually grabbed the pieces of parchments scattered before me and shuffled them into a neat pile.

I felt more than saw Maribelle narrow her eyes even further at my blatant attempt to ignore her. Despite that, I continued calmly tidying my pieces of parchment _\- Ah, screw it, I'm calling them papers from now on._

Anyway, I continued tidying my papers. It was only when they were neat and orderly that I turned my gaze on Maribelle.

The noblewoman held a white parasol in a near death grip. There was no doubt in my mind that she was imagining wringing the neck of the 'arrogant peasant who strode into the library and ignored a noblewoman'... or at least thinking something along those lines.

"To not know who I am... you must have not been in court recently, milady."

"Oh?" Maribelle took a closer look at me, particularly the clothes I was wearing. Her gaze stopped on my shoulder for some reason and her eyes grew wide.

It took everything I had to quell my curiosity and not turn my head to see what she was staring at.

After a few moments, Maribelle lowered her head slightly and said, "I apologize, Sir Emissary. Not many venture into the Royal Library and I had believed you to be some uncouth plebian. For that, I ask for your forgiveness."

...I wonder if she was naturally abrasive, or if it was a habit? That sharp tongue was bound to get her in trouble-

 _Like getting kidnapped and held hostage by Plegia._

-Ah. Right.

I gave a deliberate wave of my hand, as if washing away her words. "So long as you do not make the mistake again, I do not mind."

I rose out of my chair and held out a hand. "Emissary to the United States, Hoopa... Valiant. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 _Don't cringe. Definitely don't cringe. Even if what you just said was cringe worthy, ignore it and bluff for all you're worth._

Maribelle gave me an odd look, her eyes flitting between my hand and my face, before a small smile appeared on her face.

"Maribelle of Themis." She took my hand with her own and gave me a surprisingly firm shake. "And the pleasure is all mine."

She cast a glance back at the table and raised an eyebrow. "So what is it that brings the 'Emissary of the United States' to Ylisse's Royal Library?"

I waved my arm in a dramatic flourish. "Ah, that's quite simple you see."

 _...Wow, I'm really getting into my role, huh? Guess that public speaking class was worth the hours of drafting outlines and ranting in front of a mirror like a madman._

"You know of the recent phenomenon with the Risen, do you not, Lady Themis?"

Maribelle switched her parasol to her left hand and waved her right hand in a dismissive gesture.

"There's no need for that, Lord Valiant. Simply Maribelle is enough for one in your station. But in regards to your question, of course. A dear friend of mine made sure to inform me." She pursed her lips slightly and shook her head. "Quite a terrible thing, truly. But how does it concern you?"

I suppressed the urge to cringe at that poor excuse of an alias and then said, "Well, the reason that an emissary such as myself has visited Ylisse is due to that so called 'terrible thing'. I had been preparing my latest thesis on my homeland's magic when I woke up in a forest near Southtown. Had it not been for Lord Chrom and the Shepherds, I would have perished."

When I said that, I noticed Maribelle blanch a bit.

"H-How dreadful! To think that these events are so far reaching...!" She bit her lip and said, "I do hope you and your country find it in yourself to forgive these states of affairs? Surely, there is no way that we could have anticipated such events from occurring..."

 _Ah, right. Ylisse doesn't have a standing army and what not._

"Not to worry. In fact, that is the reason I am here in the Royal Library. I was looking through these tomes to see if there were any similar phenomena occurring in the past, as well as check if there were any useful magic that could send me back home."

Maribelle narrowed her eyes a bit and tilted her head. "...You cannot simply return on a boat?"

"Ah." _Come on brain, don't fail me now!_ "My home is quite... distant from Ylisse. While we know of your country, having made contact before, it was done through magical means. The... spells required for such a feat are quite complicated and beyond my grasp, so I had hoped to find something here that would aid me in that regard."

I sighed, hopefully coming out as dramatic but truthfully out of relief that my mouth kept talking for me. "Unfortunately, all that I have found is a mage's primer and some old tomes of past trials."

Maribelle frowned. "A mage's primer? What would that be doing here...? Has that Ricken been studying in here again?"

Seeing that Maribelle was distracted for the moment, I quickly gathered my materials and made my exit.

"In any case, it was a pleasure to meet you, Maribelle. My minder must be concerned at this point, so I bid you farewell."

 _That's a reasonable excuse, right? Right. She definitely won't interrogate me any more than this._

"Ah, the pleasure is mine, Lord Valiant. Until we meet again."

She gave me a slight nod and then headed off towards the bookshelves where old court cases were kept.

Meanwhile, I quickly strode off towards my room clutching the totally inconspicuous bright yellow dark magic tome under my right arm.

 _...Definitely need to do something about that at some point. Well, at least my cover hasn't been blown yet..._

* * *

I was thankfully unbothered on my trip back to my room.

Now, I was sure that any other person in my situation would have stayed with Maribelle or sought out some other Shepherd to get an 'in' with the protagonists but you see, that right there was something that would work only if you could actually fight.

Which apparently everyone who gets in these situations can do. Everyone except for me, that is.

I shut the door to my room behind me and scowled. "Stupid self-inserts and stupid overpowered advantages. Why can't I get an indestructible shield or instant fighting skills? But _no_ , I have to figure things out myself and bootstrap my way up. I want a world traveler's refund!"

After a moment of silence, namely due to the fact that I had just monologued in an empty room, I sighed and headed over to my designated work table with the papers, quills, ink, and book I grabbed from the library.

I laid them all out and then pulled out a blank sheet of paper. That done, I grabbed a quill, dabbed it in an inkwell, and started writing down the sacrifices for the powers I planned to get.

"If this works, I won't have to worry about dying for a while. If not... well at least I won't be alive to be embarrassed about it."

The quill moved along the paper, fleshing out in ink the logic that *should* keep me alive.

* * *

Eyes opened, closed, opened.

My body moved, following the agreement.

Training. Strength. The acquisition of skills.

Ignoring all resistance in pursuit of such. Suppressing all hesitation-

Error. Imprecise definition.

What is strength? What is training?

Scanning database for suitable model.

Model found.

"Yosh! Time to execute the Springtime of Youth!"

 _...Fuck._

* * *

"You are an idiot."

"I wholeheartedly agree with that statement."

It was dusk, the sky beginning to turn purple due to the setting sun.

I was lying down on a patch of grass, the 'spell' I had performed finally running out a few minutes ago.

Looking down on me with a stern expression was the ever-helpful maid assigned to me, Sofia.

She sighed. "Just what were you thinking? Even Sir Frederick doesn't perform such severe training."

"Again, I wholeheartedly agree."

The pain all over my body was a testament to that fact.

"...Though I shouldn't be surprised, all things considered..."

"Hm?"

"No. It's nothing."

I laid there for a bit longer, waiting for my contingency in case something like this happened to kick in.

 _Aaand there it is._

A calming sensation spread throughout my body. At the same time, I felt almost everything else wash away.

The interesting thing about dark magic was that everything operated on tradeoffs. Almost like someone had taken economic principles and pasted them into a system where anything could be the currency and everything else could be bought with it.

Considering they were approximately equal in utility, of course.

In this case, I decided that my memories, emotions, and knowledge for the five minutes following excruciating backlash from overtraining was worth the price of an instant heal.

* * *

When my awareness returned, I was in the middle of eating a sandwich. Sofia was next to me, eating one as well.

 _Looks like nothing too important happened. Although..._

While I was eating my sandwich, I couldn't help but notice that Sofia kept looking at me.

"...Did I say something to offend you, Sofia?"

"Sh-shut up! An arrogant idiot like you should just keep quiet and eat!"

"Right, right. Sorry about that."

We ate in silence for a bit.

It was awkward. Awkward enough that, possible embarrassment for having asked earlier and sounding like an idiot for doing it again aside, I decided to ask Sofia what she did all day.

Her reply?

"My job is to keep an eye on you and make sure that Sir 'Valiant' doesn't wreck Ylisse in the meanwhile with his experiments on possible dark magic."

"Hahaha... right. Dark magic experiments... Ehehe..."

 _Note to self. Do not underestimate Robin's ability to predict the future._

* * *

Time passed by in a blur.

I read. I trained. I ate.

I still hadn't figured out how cast fire balls using a fire tome, but I did manage to create a few trump cards.

I would go into the library every day to see if there was anything useful, and Maribelle would usually be there reading up on old court rulings.

I, in all of my amazingness at bluffing (now enhanced with dark magic at the low, low cost of my pride and crippling embarrassment after the fact when I realized the nonsense spewed out of my mouth during those times) actually became pretty well acquainted with the lady from Themis, enough that I learned she wanted to be a female justicar... or something like that.

Other than her, however, the only ones I seemed to spend time with was Sofia, who was surprisingly comforting to be around for some reason, and Emmeryn. The latter only came to see me briefly each day, but the fact that she did at all was nice.

The Shepherds had yet to return from their trip up north, probably due to the fact that reality isn't as convenient as to offer instant time skips like the game did.

Maribelle stopped showing up to the library after the third day.

At that point, I didn't think much about it since I had stumbled upon a rather interesting application of the first (and only) dark magic spell I had learned.

Before I knew it, the allotted week was up and the day I left Ylisse behind had arrived.

Sofia had already packed my belongings for me, and with those on my back, I was making my last rounds before setting off.

I had decided to head to the Outrealm gate. Hopefully there would be a way to get to it in Southtown. Before that though, I planned to see Emmeryn and thank her for her hospitality.

That led me heading towards the throne room, and to hearing Chrom and Emmeryn talking within.

A minor portion of my ego reminded me that it'd be rude to just barge in, but considering that today might be the last I see of them, I simply walked in.

Chrom was the first to notice me. The blue-haired lord looked a bit stressed, though not surprising what with the undead rising and all, but he greeted me with a smile. "Hoopa! How have you been? Have you enjoyed your stay in Ylisse?"

"It's been very... informative. I should be able to get home now, actually."

Emmeryn gave me a serene smile upon hearing that. "That's wonderful news, Hoopa. But... are you sure about leaving? You need not feel rushed to leave."

Chrom nodded. "Emm's got a point. I know you said you would only need a week, but it wouldn't bother us if you stayed longer."

"No, I'm sure. Not to appear rude, but I really can't afford to stay here much longer despite your hospitality."

Emmeryn sighed. "In that case, I give you my blessing. Remember to speak well of us when you return to your home country, and remember that Ylisse welcomes any future visitors."

"Of course."

A brief exchange. A brusque interaction.

I couldn't afford to stay around any longer, that much wasn't a lie. In fact, now that Chrom was here, it meant the plot would be advancing soon.

I had already done well in distancing myself from the Shepherds, as well as prepare for the worst in traveling on my own.

Cold, selfish... many words could have described my actions.

But, again, unlike most others, my survivability with the Shepherds plummeted instead of rose. It might have been higher risk, but I'd take my chances making my way home before trying to survive war in a fantasy world like this where anyone-

 _no one else, can't lose them too, don't want to get close_

-could die in an instant.

So I turned my back on them, started walking away. That should have been the end of my interactions with the Shepherds and, live or die, the start of my journey alone in Ylisse.

And then Phila burst into the room shouting about Maribelle being abducted and held hostage.

 _There goes my plans at leaving without a fuss._

* * *

The events went about how you would expect.

Phila explained the situation.

Emmeryn offered to parley with Gangrel.

Everyone protested.

Speaking of which, Lissa and Frederick had shown up at some point. The latter was still wary of me, but the former seemed to be more concerned about her friend.

In any case, the plot went on, and I waited for my opportunity to quietly slip out-

"Then why don't we hear what our Emissary has to say about this?"

-only to have that thwarted by Emmeryn's calm suggestion.

As you would expect, I became the center of attention.

Despite only being here for a week, I was still an emissary, and my words held some weight.

Apparently.

"...Emmeryn has a point. From what I've read, Ylisse can't afford to wage war. Not as they are. At the same time, it would be a fool's errand to parley with Gangrel, since the man literally cares for nothing else than Ylisse to burn."

Chrom frowned. "Then what do you propose?"

I shrugged. "Shouldn't you be asking Robin that? He's your tactician, isn't he?"

That caused Chrom to cringe.

And with that, my sense of detachment started unraveling.

"...Wait, did something happen to Robin?"

 _fearangerworry_

Chrom sighed. "Robin's a bit shaken up from Regna Ferox. While he managed to get us there and back safely, Miriel and Stahl got injured. Because of that, I'm a bit reluctant to trouble him with it."

I froze.

Robin shouldn't have caused them to be injured... _but then again injuries were part of life in what they did._

Robin's not the type to let something like that bring him down. In fact, he'll probably be working overtime to draft a strategy to make sure something like that doesn't happen again.

"Either way, I'm not qualified to give you advice, but if you want to hear what I think anyway..."

Chrom nodded.

"Parley or to not parley... in either case Ylisse is in a lose-lose situation. Parleying, however, is the only option if you want to let Maribelle live."

 _Cold words. Isn't she your friend? Don't talk about it like you're not involved._

I suppressed the guilt and doubts welling up.

"I... see."

"In any case, I'll take my leave. Good luck everyone."

"Wait, Hoopa-"

It might have seemed cold, uncaring, even ungrateful but...

 _Robin will save them._

* * *

I had left the palace a while ago without ever looking back. At the same time, I had changed into more discreet clothing, a simple brown cloak that allowed me to blend into the crowded streets of Ylisstol.

It was lively, people milling here and there without a care in the world.

 _I wish I could be that carefree again._

A point where the only worries I had were what would be on my next test... that life would be nice.

It was also the impetus for my actions.

I wasn't qualified to try anything here in this world. As much as I'd like to, I'd run too much of a risk of just messing things up.

 _Right. Keep lying to yourself._

I shook my head and kept walking, but despite my efforts to keep it at bay, my conscience slowly crept in.

What if he couldn't save her?

As annoying as Maribelle might have been in the game, I didn't mind her company. She had even pointed me out to a few books on magic in the royal library. Hell, she even lent me a few as well after I helped her find a few obscure court precedents.

I shook my head. _Not my problem_.

I wasn't a hero. I wasn't someone who could change the tides of war.

Besides, there was an order to these kinds of things. Even with me here, events should follow canon. The less I interfered the better.

 _But just because the story continues doesn't mean it will have a happy ending._

I knew what would happen, so I could stay there to make sure it does.

Robin might not realize the importance of a rescue staff.

Maribelle and Ricken might get cornered and die.

Was I willing to risk that? Could I just walk away from all of that?

They were strangers. Sure, I had played the game and grown somewhat attached to the characters, but it wasn't to the level that I'd die for them.

...No. I wasn't willing to risk it.

Time passed, and before I knew it, I was on the outskirts of town.

As if drawn to my negativity, Risen appeared.

A small crowd of swordsmen. Six.

Seeing them reminded me of the first time I witnessed the undead creatures and the fear I felt.

But this time was different. This time, I could fight.

I dropped my bag on the ground to make sure it didn't get caught in what I was going to do. After that, I raised my arms and made my move.

"Synthesize: Fire!"

Fire. Not truly an element, but a reaction when oxygen chemically combined with materials. With that knowledge, I could recreate it at anytime using 'Synthesis', provided I had the appropriate materials.

Lo and behold, air was a very convenient and abundant source of fuel for my 'spell'.

The zombies never stood a chance.

 _And neither would anyone else. So what are you afraid of?_

"Tch."

I scowled and reached to pick up my back when I noticed a piece of paper on the ground next to it.

"This handwriting... Maribelle's? Must have grabbed it by mistake a while ago..."

I sighed and started to tuck it back in my bag when I saw what was written on it.

 _Remember to treat Hoopa to a cup of tea for his aid in finding the last book I needed to write my paper._

It was a reminder. Some small, trivial thing that didn't hold much value.

...A reminder of an act that would never occur if I simply left and that would make Maribelle upset even when Robin and the Shepherds managed to save her.

"...Fuck it. I have power. They need power."

I took a deep breath to psyche myself up and then turned west to where the Plegian mountains and the parley was to take place. "C'mon me, let's go be a hero."

I set off at a jog, determined to go and save Maribelle.

 _...Please let this end well._


	6. In which our hero lends a hand-

Chapter 6: In which our hero lends a hand-

* * *

-an arm... maybe a pint or four of blood as well.

I stood at the foot of the mountains between Ylisse and Plegia. The place where chapter five was set to begin.

I'd arrived earlier than the Shepherds had (courtesy of a sleepless night and migraine in exchange for fast travel) in the storyline. In reality, about a day or two earlier than the events slated to take place in this chapter would occur.

 _Ah, Dark Magic. What would I do without you? ...Oh, right. Die. Should probably get around to seeing if I can use those staff crystals or tomes I picked up sometime or another instead._

It was just after sunrise, the surroundings barely visible with the faint rays of light from the gas giant in the sky.

As for the surroundings...

"Let's see. Forests? Check. Long winding road up to the peak? Check. An entire mountainside filled with about a hundred Plegian troops?"

I temporarily sacrificed the vision in my left eye along with my sense of smell to amplify my right eye and take a closer look.

"...Scratch that. An entire mountainside filled with TWO hundred Plegian troops and one Maribelle guarded by a dozen burly axe guys wearing weird animal pelts."

Stupid lying canon game and fanon stories.

"What was the plan again? ...Right. Sneak in and bash the pair of guards keeping watch over Maribelle, right? Yeah... that's not happening."

I sounded calm, and if anyone was watching at the time, they would have seen a hooded figure in a nondescript traveling cloak idly staring at the mountainside.

In reality, I was far from calm.

Crippling fear coursed through my veins. I could feel my legs shake, every nerve in my body itching to turn right around and walk back to Ylisse and let the whole situation blow over on its own.

I couldn't do it. Those were battle hardened soldiers up there! Even if they weren't, they were men that had no out if they failed in their job due to a mad king holding the reins to their kingdom. Against me, a simple university student who just happened to come across a book on dark magic... my odds didn't even need to be calculated.

Zero. There was zero chance of me getting in there and out alive, let alone rescuing Maribelle while I was at it.

On the other hand, the odds were fifty-fifty if I let the Shepherds deal with it.

Zero, or a half. The choice should have been obvious.

Waiting meant I guaranteed my life for a few more days at least, and gave Maribelle a chance at living.

Going ahead with my plan meant getting myself killed along with Maribelle and who knows how many others if Gangrel takes it as an excuse for war.

I nodded, my mind made up.

"Right. Plan B it is then."

I sighed, mentally preparing myself for the utter bullshit I'd have to deal with in the next few moments...

* * *

Maribelle, Lady of Themis, was not having the best day of her life. Far from it, as she had been kidnapped by Plegian troops disguised as bandits after she tried to stop them from burning yet more villages down to the ground in her role as a Shepherd.

Of course, it could have been worse. For some unfathomable reason, the guards had left her well enough alone after tying her up and tossing her in her current 'abode'.

Well, as much as a dusty cave only a few meters in diameter could be called an 'abode'.

At first, she had been worried that such uncouth barbarians would have resorted to... well, some things better left unsaid. But such events had yet to pass, and after a day gone with nothing worse than being forced to eat some slop that could scarcely be considered sustenance, she was more concerned about Ylisstol.

Her darling Lissa would surely be worrying about her at this point. Knowing her, and the noble character of her princely brother, the Shepherds would be scrambling at this point to set out and save her. At least, that was if the news that the boorish men watching over her brought her was true.

Maribelle sighed and shifted against her spot in the cave, trying to ease the tension of the ropes tying her hands together.

The action dirtied her pink dress, but considering the tattered state it was already in, that hardly bothered her. Still, she noticed it and shook her head.

 _To think, a noble lady of Themis reduced to such squalor. Why, if any of those from the Royal Court were to see me now..._

Maribelle sighed again. There was nothing she could do but wait. A fact that she loathed, but one that was indisputable.

Left with nothing to do but wait, she found herself thinking of the Royal Court once more, then the other Nobles, and finally of that strange foreign emissary that had frequented the Royal Library in recent days.

"Hoopa Valiant... it's been a week, has it not? A pity. I've yet to repay him for his aid in my studies."

It was strange how troubling times brought the most tangential of thoughts to mind.

Maribelle shook her head and closed her eyes before saying a quick prayer to Naga for his safe travels, the least she could do now that he would likely be long gone if and when she returned to Ylisse.

And then an explosion resounded from the foot of the mountain.

Maribelle's eyes snapped open in time to see half of the twelve guards watching over her leave the cave.

 _What in Naga's name is happening?_

* * *

So Plan A was the plan with the highest chances of successes. Sneak in, grab Maribelle, sneak out. You know, the works. Stealth mode.

Would have been ideal, if not for the fact that sneaking past two hundred troops scattered in every position possible on the mountainside was next to impossible.

That left Plan B, aka Plan "Bulldoze your way to Maribelle and pray everything works out fine".

...I would be the first to admit that I wasn't the smartest person under pressure and guilt.

I charged up the dusty mountain path before me. Maribelle was in a small cave to the northeast. I had to somehow make it there before becoming mincemeat by the fifty swordsmen charging towards me, a pincushion by the 30 javelins already on route to inflict bodily harm above, or a roasted snack for the two dozen wyvern riders dive-bombing towards my location.

"...This is such a bad idea...!"

 _STOP TALKING AND DO SOMETHING!_

Panic! Fear! Doubt and mortal danger!

Like hell I could act under that pressure!

 _THEN GET RID OF IT!_

"...Right! There's that! Synthesize: Invictus!"

My mind suddenly calmed, all emotions numbed for a few minutes, sacrificed for a brief moment of calm rational thinking. Enough time to prevent a freak out and get myself out of this mess.

My gaze narrowed, realizing that the rain of javelins were swiftly approaching.

No weapons I could use to deflect. No plot armor protecting me from a sudden death.

 _Think. Use your head._

I needed a shield. I needed to amplify my speed. And I needed a distraction.

 _What do you know?_

A basic spell. The guiding principle of Dark Magic: Knowledge is power.

 _Again, what do you know?_

A fire spell. Fire... fire is a chemical reaction. The oxidation of substances generating heat and light.

 _What else?_

I could use anything for a spell, so long as I could lay 'claim' to it. As no one else was around, I could claim all the air in the immediate vicinity.

 _What else?_

I couldn't remember the specifics, but condensed gas and fire would cause a large explosion, wouldn't it?

 _And?_

With that as cover, I can charge towards Maribelle.

 _ACT NOW!_

I swung my left hand up, the idea of what I wanted to do already in mind.

"Synthesize-"

An immediate sense of warning, that what I had wasn't enough. That _something_ would need to make up the deficit.

I ignored it, following through with my course of action.

"Explosion!"

My vision filled with light as Dark Magic enacted my 'mystery' upon the world. A moment later, my ears could only hear a high pitched ringing.

And then came the pain.

Surprisingly, it wasn't from being so close to the explosion. Any concussive force that would have harmed me seemed to have been negated.

No, the pain was in my left hand.

 _Oh god, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone! What do I-_

I felt the panic get almost physically suppressed by _invictus_.

 _Think of yourself less and keep moving forward. Maribelle still needs to be saved._

Something warm dripped to the ground, and the smell of iron drifted towards me.

I let out a breath and cast the next spell to continue with my crappy plan.

"Synthesize: Reinforcement!"

Blood was dripping to the ground. Originally, I planned to gain strength and speed by making a sacrifice of pain afterwards, but blood would work just fine.

 _This is bad. Bad, bad, bad-_

Again, the panic was suppressed by _invictus_.

The blood that had been dripping from my body vanished, along with another quart.

A tangible sense of weakness surged through my body. It felt as if I could faint at any moment. As if death was just a breath away...

But that quickly faded, replaced by an incredible sensation of 'power'.

Anyone who ever lifted weights (properly at least) could empathize with the feeling. Imagine the 'pump' that you get after finishing a routine of heavy lifting, where your muscles and body suddenly felt lighter than ever.

Take that, multiply it by ten and you got what I was currently feeling.

But it wasn't enough. I needed more than strength. I needed _speed._ A way to get to Maribelle and get out _fast_.

An idle thought, quickly connecting to another to make a course of action.

 _BAD IDEA!_

No choice! In for a penny, in for a pound! Synthesize!

Another quart of blood vanished, exchanged for the ability to be light as a feather in flight.

I felt fainter than ever, my vision slowly fading around the edges.

 _Reinforcement_ kicked in, the blackness pushed back. But it was temporary, that much I could tell.

I had... fifteen minutes or so. And that was if I was lucky.

 _Then move! Run while you still can!_

It seemed like a lot had happened, but in reality, only a second had passed since the explosion.

Dust filled the air along with other debris, momentarily obscuring me from any observers.

Using that to my advantage, I kicked off the ground towards the cave where I saw Maribelle.

A group of guards were out and armed practically to the teeth. It seemed like they were expecting people.

Of course-

"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

 _...I blame the blood loss._

* * *

Another explosion rang out, this one much closer than the previous. Said explosion was followed by the six guards that had previously run out being sent crashing back into the cave.

Maribelle blinked. _Again, what in Naga's name...? Is this the doing of that new tactician?_

One of the remaining guards shouted out. The leader of the barbarians watching over Maribelle. A burly and uncouth individual garbed in dirty animal pelts of all things. "We're under attack!"

The leader turned towards the two guards closest to Maribelle and said, "You two, keep a close eye on her and check up on the others. Us four will-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as a cloaked figure ran into the cave and... kicked the head off the lead guard?

Maribelle blinked again, trying to process what was happening.

Smack, a thwack, and a dull _thud._

In no time at all, the guards were turned into red smears on the cave wall.

This time, Maribelle couldn't help but voice her disbelief. "...What?"

The cloaked figure turned towards her and stepped forward.

Maribelle took a step back, her mind racing. _An incredibly powerful warrior conveniently appearing in my time of need? Unbelievable. Perhaps a third party trying to take advantage of this situation? One of father's enemies? But who would-_

The figure raised its right hand, slow and deliberate.

It was at this point that Maribelle realized the figure was covered in blood, and that their left arm still dripped it.

Maribelle's eyes glanced around the cave. Blood, gore... shattered weapons.

She turned her attention back to the figure, reluctantly acknowledging that there was no escape.

"I know not who you are, but I will have you know that if any harm comes to me..."

The figure seemed to hesitate for a moment at her words and then let out a sigh.

* * *

GOD THE PAIN. IT'S GONE, IT'S GONE, IT'S-

 _Invictus_ triggered and I felt clarity return to me after a long exhale.

Hearing Maribelle's words, I realized that she was unharmed. That was good. It meant that this trip wasn't for naught.

...Of course, she was perfectly fine and dandy in the game as well, so I probably just wasted my time and many stupid things to save her but-

 _FOCUS._

Right. Need to pull a badass hero moment and all.

First off, examine the maiden in distress.

Ruffled pink dress, caution, a bit of dust marring her face. Nothing ripped, no wounds other than some scratches and slight bruises. Seemed nothing unmentionable happened here, so that's good.

Right, she's still tied up. Well... no sword, so guess untying her is a no-go.

"...and if my darling Lissa were to hear of this, why-"

Maribelle continued to talk.

I probably would have found her flustered rambling adorable if not for the mind numbing paIN OH MY GOD MY HAND-!

 _Invictus_ triggered again.

Thank you past me for thinking ahead, and sorry future me for having to deal with this shit later when I knock out.

 _Reinforcement_ was still up, along with my speed spell-

 _Need to give that a name sometime. Accel?_

-but the enemy's reinforcements were coming as well.

 _Now I could do an awesome reveal and revel in Maribelle's surprise... or I could do the smart thing and just grab her and go. Yeah, let's do that._

"Sorry in advance."

"Eh? What are you-"

Without waiting for her response, I grabbed her and threw her over my right shoulder with my working hand.

"W-what! Why, you uncouth-"

Sudden weakness.

 _Crap, spell's fading._

"-barbarian?"

Maribelle must have felt my sudden weakness as she suddenly became quiet.

 _AND YOU'RE WASTING TIME! RUN!_

Right. There's that.

I turned around, maiden in hand, and jumped out of the cave... to be met by the wyvern knights I saw earlier.

...Scratch that, the entirety of air units Plegia had stationed here.

In other words, fifty.

"Shit."

Surprisingly, it was Maribelle that cursed and not me.

I was too busy trying to get us out alive.

 _Body quickly fading, fire ineffective, can't get out of range fast enough... well I'm screwed and a half if I don't think of something quick._

I glanced to my left out of habit, like when I do most serious thinking.

Sudden inspiration.

 _"_ Arm's already screwed anyway. Might as well...?"

"What are you mumbling about?"

I ignored Maribelle.

I looked at my arm, the wyverns, and my arm again.

"...Fuck it."

Currently light as a feather (Maribelle thankfully included in the scope of my spell), body reinforced to take care of impacts, and conveniently created an explosion spell earlier.

 _Not the best plan, but..._

I raised my left arm, mentally calculating the trajectory after the impending change in my momentum.

"There's a mend crystal and a fire tome in my bag. I'll get us out of here, but it'll be up to you to protect us afterwards. And I swear, Maribelle, if you still die after all this bullshit I put myself through to save you, I'm coming back just to haunt you."

Maribelle tensed.

I narrowed my eyes, aiming at the brunt of the Plegian wyvern riders.

"We're blasting off again! Synthesize: Explosion!"

My left arm-

 _blindingpain,loss,ohGODWHATHAVEYOUDONE!STUPID,STUPID,STUPID!_

-shattered, and my vision filled with flames.

The sheer force from the explosion sent me and Maribelle rocketing to the south of the mountains and towards a pond.

It also did a number on my remaining thread to consciousness, though I managed to hold on long enough to shift my grip on Maribelle so that my back was to the ground and she was on top of me.

I caught a glimpse of wide chocolate-colored eyes...

 _THUD._

And then I blacked out.

* * *

Spell List

Invictus: Sacrifice detrimental emotions for a short time period in order to act according to logic/will.

Explosion: Sacrifice 'claimed' space to compress air and ignite it for a massive explosion. Insufficient knowledge requires mana to compensate, but a lack of said mana can be substituted with blood and/or life force.

Reinforcement: Reinforces the body by using energy to fill in 'flaws' by adding to what is already working and improving upon it. Due to lack of mana, blood was used as a catalyst to refine the body.

'Accel': Lightens the body and doubles speed stat. Normally requires vast mana and a body capable of sustaining such speeds, but Hoopa was able to get around it by sacrificing blood and making the use of a temporary loss in mass.

* * *

A/N: Hah, I forgot just how fun it is to mess around with this story. Anyway, behold the workings of a mad mind! Behold the stupidity of a man with a hero complex! Behold, the start of a derailed canon due to good intentions!

Should've picked Myrmidon. :Shakes head:

Leave a review on the way out if you want, but thanks regardless for reading!

Until the next!


	7. In which our hero makes a break for it-

In which our hero makes a break for it-

-and finds out just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

* * *

Darkness. A pitch black, cold, unfeeling darkness.

 _Guilt, blood, pain._

-I killed people. Without hesitation.

 _Bodies on the ground, the warm feeling of blood on my hands._

They had family. Friends. Loved ones.

Hopes, dreams... shattered just like that.

 _The look of fear in their eyes, an expression of seeing an incomprehensible monster._

Some of those he killed might have been genuinely despicable, wastes of resources and lives. But others... Gangrel was not a kind ruler and more than a few would have simply been men pressed into service.

 _Look. See how easy it is? A swing of a fist, an elbow, a leg._

Killing them had been too easy.

 _A head flying through the air and crumpling against rock like a ripe melon._

Don't think about it.

 _A body split in half, entrails spilling out to the ground._

Don't think about it.

 _Another sent crashing into the wall and becoming nothing more than a splatter of red._

Don't think about it!

 _So many killed. And so easy at that. Such a missed opportunity as well. You could have used some more 'resources' to experiment with._

I wanted to vomit, scream, claw at the words and thoughts whispering in my mind.

 _What's wrong? It's us against them. Think rationally. You need power, don't you? And what easier way to get it than taking it from others? Nergal did it, why not you as well?_

No.

No, no, NO!

I am NOT a monster. I will NEVER do that!

 _But you've thought about it. And you WILL do it at some point. After all, you're nobody special. Just an ordinary man with nothing to his name but some otherworldly knowledge._

I WILL NOT!

 _You will. Oh, you will. This time managed to work out, but what about the next time? You barely managed to save Maribelle, but what about the next time?_

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

 _Hahaha... Sorry, Hoopa, but there's no one here but you. Try to deny it as much as you want, but these... whispering thoughts are nothing more than your own._

I SAID-

 _You aren't going home. There isn't a convenient Outrealm Gate to send you back. Stop lying to yourself and accept the fact that if you want to live past Grima you'll NEED to use those dark ideas you keep under lock and key._

"-GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

I screamed out the words and the dark void I was trapped in vanished, replaced by a view of tree branches and a crimson sky beyond them.

The sound of footsteps, cracked twigs, crumpled leaves.

I reached out with my arms to push myself off the ground and-

Fell back down.

 _Your left arm's gone, remember?_

My stomach dropped, and I felt my chest tighten, like a cold hand clutching at my heart. _Gone? Gone. Right. It's gone. Ha. Haha. HAhahahaHAHA-_

"Hoopa!"

A concerned voice cut off the encroaching madness.

I turned my head to see Maribelle running towards me.

Her hair wasn't in its usual curls, but instead let down. It was also a bit scraggly, but from what we'd just gone through, I wasn't surprised. Her clothes weren't in much better shape, the pink dress tattered with more than a few tears in it.

I also noticed my fire tome tucked beneath her left arm. _Looks like she took my advice to heart._

Maribelle quickly scanned the surroundings and only after seeing there weren't any threats did she lower her guard.

Then she turned her attention back to me. And from the way her eyes were narrowed and her arms were crossed, she didn't look too pleased.

I raised my left-

 _PANIC,IT'SGONE,WHATDOIDO?_

-right hand in greeting and said, "Haha... morning?"

My voice came out weaker than I expected and a bit shaky.

Probably because of the barely suppressed panic.

Maribelle's glare softened and she let out a sigh.

She stepped out of my view.

I thought she was going back to scouting considering the outburst I had made could have drawn the attention of enemies.

Then I felt a hand on my own and a slight tug.

"Here. You shouldn't be trying to get up on your own yet."

I allowed her to help me up and then let out a wry laugh. "You saw that, huh? Sorry for the trouble."

"Trouble? I suppose that's one way to put it, Lord Valiant."

I suppressed my wince. _Back to formalities, eh?_

Ignoring the awkward silence that followed, I took a glance around to see where we were.

 _Forest clearing, pond nearby... not familiar, but it should be pretty far from where we were. Oh, and there's my bag._

That done, I turned my attention back to Maribelle.

"I was led to believe that a certain emissary would have made his way home by this time and even offered a prayer to Naga for his safe travels." Maribelle narrowed her eyes. "Imagine my surprise when not only does this said emissary remain in Ylisse, but he even showed up to save me in my time of need, going so far as to sacrifice his arm to do so."

I laughed and reached to scratch the back of my head.

Then I flinched, realizing I tried to do that with my nonexistent arm and switched to my right.

"Long story, that..."

Maribelle shook her head. "I had believed you were more intelligent than that, Lord Valiant. For such an important individual like yourself to go so far for one such as I... did you once stop to consider the consequences?"

"Of course!"

I answered out of reflex, then paused when my mind caught up.

 _...Right?_

"Oh? Then you must realize that Plegia now has their excuse to start their long awaited war with Ylisse. In fact, I would not be surprised if they had already begun to march."

I froze.

Maribelle stared at me a while longer and then sighed. "While I am... grateful that you went through such trouble for me, the fact remains that it would have been better for you to have not come at all."

"That's..."

Wrong. It had to be wrong. If I didn't show up, then...

 _...Nothing would have changed._

No. I wasn't wrong. I had to be right. If not-

 _Then why did I go through so much trouble?_

"...wrong," I eventually said. "That's wrong. You would have died."

 _That's right._

Some more force came into my voice. "You would have _died_. You said it yourself, right? Plegia was waiting for an excuse to start a war. They would never have let you go back alive, even if Emmeryn showed up for parley."

It was what happened in the game. Nothing but sheer luck saved both her and Ricken from an early death.

I didn't believe in luck. Not now that it wasn't a game. There was too much at stake.

I looked at Maribelle, expecting her to see my point of view but-

"Then I would have gladly offered my life for the Exalt."

A firm resolve. Staring into her eyes, a dark brown tending towards ruby under the setting sun, I realized it. The difference between us.

She was someone willing to lay down her life for her country. Who would rather die than see it embroiled in the flames of war.

It was something I didn't understand. Couldn't understand.

"...For the greater good?" I muttered. "You would give up your life just to delay the inevitable a few more days?"

"Of course." An immediate response. "Such is the duty of nobles. As an emissary, you understand this as well, do you not?"

Silence.

Maribelle frowned. "You do understand, don't you?"

Conviction. A higher purpose. A greater good.

"...No. I don't understand. I don't think I ever will."

To give up your life for someone. To put your life on the line to protect people. I thought I had it in me. The makings of a hero, the standards of a protagonist but-

 _Unbearable pain, anxiety that felt like my heart twisting in knots, hopelessly out of your depth._

"Hoopa?"

Maribelle's questioning voice. My title dropped out of concern.

Staring at her-

 _Such a half-baked conviction you have._

-I couldn't meet her eyes anymore.

I was tired. I had lost my arm. My body felt cold, too cold. Likely a result of dark magic. But most of all...

 _I can't do it._

It was easy to say that I would save them all. That I would be a hero, that I'd man up and rescue Maribelle, Emmeryn, and whoever else might have been thrown in the line of fire. That I could make sure they live when war broke out.

 _But..._

I bowed. "Thank you for watching over me while I rested, Lady Themis."

The confused look on Maribelle was priceless, something I would have remembered for ages and laughed about with her and the Shepherds later...

But I wouldn't.

"Ah," Maribelle said. "It's no trouble. After all, you have done just as much, if not more for me. And I do thank you for that, despite the lack of foresight on your end."

A backhanded compliment, but one she said with a sincere smile. Should have warmed my heart on a normal day, but it didn't do anything to stop the numb feeling in my mind.

I grabbed my bag and abruptly turned my back on her. _Coward._

"The Shepherds should be arriving soon. I've repaid my debt for your aid in finding a way for me to get back home."

 _Bullshit. That's not why you helped her and you know it._

"Wait, Hoopa. You cannot truly be planning to just leave after-"

I didn't want to hear it.

 _I want to leave._

I didn't want to see her face anymore.

 _I want to go home._

I didn't want to dwell anymore on the fact that I did something utterly stupid and started the war with Plegia early.

 _I don't want to play this game anymore._

A way out, to head to Southtown as fast as I could and find the Outrealm gate. I didn't care how I got there or how it would work, I just wanted to go there _NOW._

Half-remembered thoughts, ideas, memories.

I took a step forward, the spell I have in mind prompting me to pay the price for an incomplete understanding.

"Hoo-!"

My mind blanked. My senses numbed. Any sense of self I had vanished entirely, cast into a spell to let me LEAVE.

* * *

I found myself in a grassy field. Southern Ylisse, where the game began.

Night was beginning to fall, the sun finally dipping beneath the horizon. I didn't know what I'd done to get there, but at the moment, I didn't care.

A creeping numbness spread out from my left side. A now constant reminder that my arm was gone, now and for good.

 _Or at least until I go home._

I could see the sea to the south. The place where the Outrealm Gate would be. Where I could go home and forget this all happened.

I started walking. All the while, my right hand clutched at my left shoulder, trying to send some warmth and feeling back into it.

* * *

I walked.

Risen occasionally appeared to stop me, but my synthesized fire turned them into dust.

I walked some more.

The moon hung high in the sky.

I walked and walked and walked until I finally arrived at the beachside.

Then I stopped.

"No."

Water lapped against a sandy beach, one that appeared silver beneath the moonlight.

"NO."

The sky was a pitch black, only broken by the white moon above.

"NO!"

I screamed.

My head swiveled left and right, up and down.

Sky, sea, land. This place was surely where the Outrealm Gate should be, but-

There was no boat. No Anna. No multicolored portal in the sky.

"STOP FUCKING WITH ME!"

I threw my bag to the ground. I roared. I kicked the sand. But none of it changed the fact that there was nothing here but an empty shoreline and an endless sea.

It was over. My hopes, dashed.

The ONLY reason why I even thought about helping Maribelle was because I was sure, SURE that it would be here. That I had an out if things went wrong. Or at least a place I could go train to get the power to at least stand a chance. I mean, every other damned self insert got to use it, right?

"IS THAT TOO FUCKING MUCH TO ASK?!"

I went to my knees and punched the ground.

"This." _Punch_. "Is." _Punch_. "BULLSHIT!" _Punch_.

My vision blurred. My chest felt tight, a pit in my stomach sending it plummeting to the floor.

I collapsed, hiding my face on my arm.

"Bull...shit..."

I felt my arm get wet from my tears. Pathetic. I was a man, dammit. Something like that shouldn't have set me off bawling like a kindergartner that fell off the swing.

But...

"This is such bullshit..."

I was stuck in this world, for better or for worse.

And now that I had saved Maribelle before the Shepherds arrived, who knew what the future held?

 _I told you._

"Fuck."

 _There's no escaping it. Now, do you want to live? Or are you going to just sit there and wait for some Risen to kill you?_

 _Invictus_ triggered without my casting it, and I felt my despair vanish.

...I don't want to die.

 _Right. But do you want to live? If you do... get up._

I got to my feet. When I did, I noticed that Dark Magic for the Daft was nearby, opened to a page I'd never seen before.

 _No one's going to save you. No god's going to appear and give you magic skills or items. In this world, the only one you can rely on is yourself._

That's right. Especially now that my arm... well, as nice as Chrom and the Shepherds might be, no one looked too kindly on a _cripple_.

 _So if you want to live-_

I picked up the book and started reading it.

- _if you want to stand even a fighting chance against Grima, you'd better cast away those morals of yours._

* * *

 _Dark Magic for the Daft_

 _Chapter 1._

 _Congratulations, reader. If you can read this, you've taken the first step along the true path of the 'Darke Artes'._

 _You might have noticed that you couldn't read this before. In fact, you couldn't read any part of the book but 'Sacrifice' and the introduction before now._

 _This is intentional._

 _The 'Darke Artes', hereafter referred to as 'Dark Magic' requires resolve, moreso than any other magic. But more importantly, it requires desire. You must 'want' to use it. And most of all, you must NEED it._

 _...I have to admit that I lied earlier. Dark Magic is more than simple 'equivalent exchange'._

 _While anyone and their grandmother can use simple dark magic, and while a crafty individual can even become powerful with it, they will never be a 'Master' of it._

 _The reason is because they do not 'want' it enough. They do not 'need' it, they only 'use' it. And above all else, they treat it like some sacred system, giving exactly what it wants in order for a miracle._

 _You, Reader, are after more than that. If you can read this, your 'need' is greater than any average dark mage._

 _Back against the wall, furious at the world, cursing your weakness... I know that feeling all too well._

 _So, Reader- no, comrade. Allow me to give you the key to your future, the sword to carve away the darkness and seize it for your own purpose._

 _We will begin by giving you a foundation to work with, the most essential skill I learned along this path._

 _Blood and Mana conversion._

* * *

Level up!

Name: Hoopa

Class: Emissary

New Spells

Void step: By completely erasing one's presence from reality, including the time they would have spent in it and their experiences in that time, allows uninhibited travel to a chosen location through the 'Void'. Prolonged usage drains the user's mental health.

New Skills

Blood and Mana: " _Mana is blood and blood is mana._ " Allows direct conversion of mana into blood and blood into mana. If the user's, 1:1 conversion. If external, 10% conversion.

Dark Blessing: Enables the usage of Dark Magic without tomes and makes all spells Dark element.

* * *

A/N: And you thought dark magic didn't have side effects. Hah.

Behold, the aftermath of dark magic corruption, stress, and the realization that there is no way home.

Now, the question is if our hero will become a complete monster and do everything to live or if he'll keep a shred of optimism and try to help when he can.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it!

Leave a review on your way out if you want, and any feedback would be much welcomed.

Until the next!


	8. In which our hero does heroic things-

In which our hero does heroic things-

-and manages to screw up in an epic way

* * *

Night prevailed, the moon serving as the sole source of light for miles around.

With only that as my guide, I walked, making my way across the fields of southern Ylisse.

Absolute silence reigned supreme, as if the world itself had gone still.

 _No surprise there, considering what I did._

Blood and mana conversion. An ability that allowed me to freely convert mana to blood.

I let out a breath and used it again, drawing forth the ambient mana to replenish my body from my crazy antics earlier in the day.

The world seemed to dim, for a moment becoming somehow... lifeless.

"...And yet I've barely recovered. Less than a drop of blood for all the mana in my immediate surroundings. Makes me wish I had a Runeblade like I did in my story."

Again, there was silence with not even a Risen to disturb me.

"Well, at least I've recovered somewhat from my foolhardy play at being a hero."

Footsteps echoed, softly padding against the grass below.

"...But now what? Going home is impossible unless I somehow recreate the Kaleidoscope and learn interdimensional travel. Even then, considering the infinite parallel universes, let alone the infinite metaverses that could exist containing their _own_ infinite parallel universes... yeah going home isn't gonna happen."

A sense of melancholy.

"No more coffee. No more late nights programming. No more writing... hell, this is probably every nerd's dream, isn't it? I'm free here, but..."

Cloth fluttered against a missing arm.

"...Those stories ain't all they're cracked up to be, are they?"

A soft sigh.

"Right. And here I am, rambling to myself, alone in the dark with killer zombies on the loose and a war on the horizon."

 _Better that than wallowing in misery, right?_

I shook my head and kept walking, heading to the east.

Valm lay somewhere in that general direction, at least according to my vague recollections of the game, so I could find a ship somewhere and ride out this storm.

 _Heck, you could even go level grind some! What could POSSIBLY go wrong?_

As if to answer that unspoken question, a village not too far from me went up in flames, causing smoke to billow up and blend into the night air.

I kept walking, fully intending on ignoring what was happening before me.

And then screams cut through the air, death cries and pleas for help.

I slowed down a bit but, after recalling what happened the last time I tried being a hero, I kept walking.

"Halp!"

A young voice called out in the distance.

 _No way._

"Somebody! Anybody!"

I turned towards it.

There was a figure running out of the village, short with curly hair kept beneath a shining brass pot.

 _Donnel? Did the Shepherds not go through that paralogue?_

The figure seemed to catch sight of me, changing direction and making a beeline straight at me.

 _Just leave. Remember what happened last time you tried messing with the plot?_

I tensed. "...This is different."

 _Is it really? So what if Chrom didn't help Donnel. Even you didn't do his paralogue until later in some of your playthroughs, right?_

"Yes, but that was the game and this is reality."

 _And that was your excuse in saving Maribelle. See how that worked out, why don't you?_

My mental debate was stalled by the arrival of Donnel grabbing at my arm and saying, "Sir! You gots to help us, sir!"

Faced with such desperation, there was only one thing I could say.

"I refu-"

"Oy! There's the wee piglet!"

I narrowed my eyes.

A bandit emerged from the village.

From my ever fading recollection of the game, that was how this paralogue should have played out, except...

"And what's this? A lone traveler come to die? Haw haw haw!"

The bandit was laughing, and as he did I saw the blood splattered across his chest and the axe in his left hand.

Like the in-game enemies, he had animal furs for clothes and a muscular body, one honed through various conflicts.

In a straight up fight, I couldn't win, especially since I was still recovering from my injuries.

Donnel turned to look at the bandit and then focused on something on the ground behind the bandit.

Curious, I followed his gaze.

Before I could figure out what Donnel was looking at, the young villager screamed. "Uncle Shaw!"

My vision narrowed without me realizing it.

The bandit was holding something in his right hand, dragging it against the ground as he walked toward Donnel.

 _...You can see it, can't you?_

Though it was dark, from the light of the moon and the flickering flames, a trail of blood was behind the bandit stretching back to the village entrance.

 _There, in his right hand..._

The bandit laughed. "This fella? Hah, he tried running just like you piggy. A shame he wasn't as fast."

 _From the looks of it, you shouldn't have any qualms using that bandit as a means to increase your power now, would you?_

The bandit swung his right arm and said, "Here, piggy! Say hello to your pal!"

A corpse landed on the ground before me with a sickening _crack_ , broken and mutilated save for the face that was forever frozen in fear and agony.

Donnel screamed and rushed at the bandit, slim chances of him winning against the more experienced man be damned.

I barely noticed Donnel's charge, my vision still locked on the corpse in front of me.

Before, when I killed those people to save Maribelle, I hadn't been in a state of mind to process the deaths, the gore that was involved in a person's demise.

The corpse on the ground had been split open, long jagged slashes tearing through its clothes and flesh.

 _Don't look away._

Blood still oozed from the wounds, along with various viscera and a sickly sweet smell that made my stomach turn.

 _This is what awaits those without power._

Shards of white poked out in certain places as well, surprisingly stark despite the crimson surrounding them.

 _This is what awaits you and everyone here if you-_

The bandit's cruel laughter filled my ears, along with Donnel's furious cry.

I snapped.

Guilt, despair, fear, pain, loss... all the negativity that had been suppressed by _invictus_ reappeared in an instant.

I wanted to scream at the world for its unfairness, cry out against its cruelty... but more than anything, I was angry.

That man on the ground had done nothing to deserve his fate, and yet a bandit had come out of the blue and taken his life away.

"You know, I was going to ignore all of this. After all, what's it to me if people die off-screen where I can't see it?"

Both Donnel and the bandit froze at my sudden interruption.

I took a step forward. "I mean, hell. People die all the time, right? What's another one, two, ten, a hundred? It's just a number. It's always been just a number for me. And I would have been fine living like that, you know? Pretending it's just something that happened in stories, in games. You know, fiction."

The bandit gave me a weird look. "What are you, a nutter? Did you get touched in the head by the fell dragon or summin'?"

I laughed. "Right, Grima. Grima, Grima, Grima... that damned dragon's probably the whole reason I'm in this mess. Always is for people in this situation, isn't he? The big bad and all. But enough about him, we're talking about you."

Donnel seemed to realize something was off and decided to take a step off to the side.

I took another step forward and stared at the bandit. "Like I said, I'd have been fine pretending people didn't die all the time. But _NO_ , you had to go and rub it in my face like that, didn't you? Break my whole facade and worldview like a fucking asshole why don't you? Well you know what?!"

The bandit flinched at took a step back.

"I'm sick of it. I hate seeing people get hurt in front of me. I hate the fact that I only mess things up when I try to stop that from happening. And I absolutely _despise_ having that rubbed in my face."

The surroundings dimmed and the night suddenly became more tangible, more... _dark._

I walked forward and raised my right hand.

This time the bandit scrambled backwards, fear in his eyes. "Y-you're a s-sorcerer?! S-sir, I'm sorry I didn't-"

I clenched my right hand and said, "Shut up and die for me."

Blood turned to mana, and the bandit into a corpse- no, less than a corpse.

When I was finished, all that was left of him was a sack of dry skin and bones.

There was a surge of power as the bandit's blood became usable mana.

I frowned and lowered my hand after absorbing it. _Only a ten percent conversion. Barely did anything to build your reserves. Oh well. At least you have an instakill spell now._

"That was amazin'!"

I turned towards Donnel.

The young villager's eyes were filled with awe and... gratitude?

 _I suppose that makes sense if that corpse was his uncle._

"Sir- no, mighty dark sorcerer sir! Please, come help us! If you come along, those bandits won't stand a chance and we can save the others! I'm beggin' ye- er, I beg of you! Even if I have to give you my eternal soul, I-"

"...Donnel, was it?"

 _Oh? Going to play the powerful dark lord now, are you?_

I ignored the voice in my head and said, "Lead the way."

* * *

Monsters.

In this world, they existed not only as the undead Risen, but as humans as well.

I realized that fact more and more the longer I stayed in this world.

Donnel had led the way to where the bandits were rounding up the villagers.

Fortunately, his 'Ma' was still alive and well.

...Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for a majority of the other villagers.

Some things were better left not described, especially a few of the female corpses I saw along the way there.

If it affected Donnel at all, he didn't seem to show it.

He was strong that way. Much stronger than I could ever be.

 _But why be strong when you can cheat and use invictus, eh?_

"So what's the plan, Sorcerer Hoopa sir?"

I sighed. "First of all, just call me Hoopa. Second of all... let me think for a bit."

We took cover behind one of the burned down houses on the west side of the village.

The bandits were mostly gathered in the center of the village, though I noted a few wandering back from some dark alleys.

What they were doing was better left unsaid.

 _And you felt guilty about killing people. Some aren't even worthy of being called that. Monsters, the lot of them._

Raucous laughter spilled out from the bandits, and the leader, someone wielding the shiniest axe and cleanest furs, sauntered towards the bound villagers, a cruel smile cutting across his face.

 _Kill them. Drain them. Make their power your own. In this world, it's kill or be killed. Live... or die an ignoble death with none to mourn you._

The bandit leader turned towards Donnel's mother and said, "Any moment now my men'll be back with your brat. Do you think he'll squeal like your husband did last time we were here?"

"And _I_ wonder if you'll cower before me like your friend did before I took his life."

The bandit leader froze and turned towards me, a menacing look on his face.

Frankly, if I'd run into the guy in a dark alley back home, I'd have pissed my pants and ran the fuck away.

Buff as pro bodybuilders, an utterly massive steel axe in his right hand and an expression that wouldn't be out of place in a slasher film.

No way in hell I would have stood a chance... at least, back on Earth.

 _But this isn't Earth, and you aren't powerless, are you?_

The bandit leader started walking towards me. "Gerik was killed by a skinny twerp like you? Don't make me laugh."

 _Here he comes. Now, about that plan of yours..._

...Right. The plan. Er...

"Donnel," I whispered. "You any good in a fight?"

"Fight? I dunno, Hoopa sir. Never tried."

 _He hasn't met Chrom, remember?_

...But he does have underdog and an insane growth rate.

"What, get cold feet?" The bandit leader laughed and started moving faster. "What happened to all that bravado? Don't tell me you were just bluffing."

 _Think fast. Sure, you can kill this guy with blood and mana conversion, but can you do it fast enough on the others to save the villagers? You haven't recovered enough to use any buffs, remember._

Shit. Forgot about that.

"Er... Hoopa sir?" Donnel whispered. "He's getting closer. If you're gonna use some secret dark spell, it'd be a good time to use it."

I quickly scanned the surroundings.

A sickle was on the ground not too far away, probably left behind after a day's work in the fields.

 _Now there's an idea._

"I'll take care of the bandit leader and distract them," I whispered. "You grab that sickle and go around to free the others"

Donnel nodded and stealthily crept away.

 _...Wow. No wonder his supports say he's so good at trapping animals. That's pretty good stealth right there._

Further musings were stalled by the bandit leader reaching striking range. If I wasn't careful, I'd end up just another corpse on the ground.

"Take this!" The bandit leader leapt towards me.

I stepped to the side, causing my left sleeve to billow out at the motion.

The bandit leader grinned and chopped down with his axe at my sleeve. "Your arm's mine!"

The sound of tearing fabric and a loud _thump_.

The bandit leader's eyes widened upon seeing a distinct lack of blood falling to the ground. "What the-"

"...How about I take your arm instead?"

He was in my range.

 _TAKE HIS BLOOD, SOUL, MAGIC!_

I grabbed at the man's axe arm and began converting his blood.

-Now I could have activated the conversion from a distance and gotten rid of him that way, but the bandits didn't need to know that, now did they?

Screams, terror and fear. "Dark magic... you're a sorcerer!"

"Not quite, but you're dead either way now, aren't you?"

I stepped forward, right arm wrapping around the man- no, monster's neck.

 _KILL HIM._

The bandit leader screamed out in fear and his eyes spun wildly backwards. "W-what are you guys waiting for! Kill him!"

I saw the other bandits mobilize, spreading out to surround me.

The act also conveniently left the villagers unguarded and free for Donnel to rescue.

 _Just as planned._

There were six bandits, not including the leader. All armed with very sharp, lethal axes. Things that could easily kill me if any made contact.

"Ha. Haha. Hahaha. You think that's enough? _Blood as mana, mana as blood. Reinforce!_ "

 _Power_ coursed through my veins. At the same time, I could _feel_ the monster's body grow limp, lighter with every drop of blood I took from it.

"Now this is more like it."

"You monster!"

There was a flash of silver and an axe flew towards me.

I plucked it out of the air by the axe head, the edge of it pressed against my bare palm.

"...Monster? Ha, that's pretty fitting."

I clenched my hand and it shattered, leaving nothing but shards of metal dropping to the ground.

And at the same time, my hand was unblemished.

 _Of course. What is mere iron to a body of steel?_

"Playtime's over."

I turned towards the bandit that had thrown the axe and raised my hand.

The act caused the six bandits to attack at once, though none were dumb enough to try throwing their axes any more. Instead, they swung at me from varying angles, surprisingly showing a degree of coordination.

If I was an ordinary person... heck, even if I was one of the Shepherds, I'd probably be done for.

But I wasn't, and so it was the bandits that were done for.

 _"I've always wanted to try blood bending."_

My arm swung to the ground.

A sickening _rip_ sounded out, followed by the intoxicating thrum of _power_.

 _Pleasant, isn't it? See. All you had to do was get rid of those pesky morals._

I grinned and turned back towards the villagers, ignoring the pile of dust around me.

The looks of fear and disgust that met me instantly washed away the pleasant feeling humming through my blood.

"Donny... that's the one you asked to help us?"

I could practically _feel_ the fear in her voice.

Donnel nodded. "Yep! Hoopa's strong, ain't he? Took 'em all out by himself!"

Donnel's mother gave a shaky nod. "Strong... yes, that's one word for it..."

 _Better to be feared than anything, right?_

NO. I... I didn't...

I took a step back.

Something brushed against my foot.

A glance showed it to be a withered bag of flesh, the same one that used to be the bandit leader.

 _OHMYGODWHATHAVEIDONEMONSTERCAN'TBELIEVE-_

Invictus triggered, and I turned my gaze back to the villagers.

"...I apologize for the scare. Sometimes things tend to get a bit out of hand when I use my magic."

Donnel's mom, seemingly the unofficial spokesperson for the villagers, relaxed at my calm voice.

"Y-yes, it's understandable. Dark magic can be quite... wild from my understanding, yes?"

I nodded, seemingly calm and collected.

Truthfully-

 _LIARMURDERERMONSTERDEFILER!_

-I was anything but.

"I'm glad to see that you're all safe." I turned towards Donnel and said, "Good job, rescuing them."

The young villager scratched his pot and gave me a sheepish smile. "Shucks, I didn't do nothing, Hoopa, sir. You're the one who-"

A shimmer of darkness, barely visible even to my reinforced gaze.

My eyes grew wide and I charged forward. "Get down-!"

Too late.

"MA!"

An arrow struck Donnel's mother, a spray of blood sprouting like a rose.

 _Whoops? Didn't you realize that like attracts like?_

An ominous roar, followed by the sound of crackling bones.

"Risen! Donnel, you have to-"

More shimmers of darkness, arrows launching through the night.

I quickly made a wall of flames, incinerating a majority of the arrows, but there were still enough to cut down most of the villagers.

...And by most, I meant all but Donnel.

"Ma! Ma! You've gotta wake up Ma!"

A heart wrenching scene, one that-

 _YOUDIDTHISYOURFAULTWHYBOTHERFAKER_

 _-_ had to be put to the side for the moment so I could focus on what was going on.

I remapped my senses, focusing completely on my vision to be able to see in the dark-

"Holy fucking mother of god."

A literal HORDE of Risen was approaching. More than could even be put into a single map.

For a brief moment, I idly wondered if I could hold them off.

To test that thought, I tugged at the closest Risen and tried to convert it-

 _DESPAIRFURYWRATHENEMY!_

-only to get a migraine that made my head feel like it was splitting in two.

 _Well that was dumb._

I followed up with a burst of flames... only to see the Risen walk through unscathed.

And angry.

 _Fuck this._

I ran forward and grabbed Donnel. "We have to go."

He shook me off. "No! Ma...! I gotta... Ma, the others, I gotta bury them!"

"We're going to be buried here if we don't leave, Donnel!"

"I don't care! Ma... everyone...!"

"Tch." I swept my gaze around us.

Risen were everywhere, and any avenue of escape was swiftly closing. Not only that, but the Risen archers and mages in the group were readying their next volley of attacks.

"Donnel!"

I screamed at the young villager and looked at him.

Donnel's tear-filled eyes met my own.

"Your Ma wouldn't want you dying here! You know this!"

 _Listen, please, please, please listen!_

Donnel froze, still holding on to his mother's corpse.

"Look, it might be painful now. I get it, you lost someone close to you. People close to you. I'm not saying to ignore it, since it's not going away, especially while _those_ still walk the earth."

I gestured towards the Risen.

"But if you want to make your m- your Ma happy, you've gotta come with me, right now. Come with me, and I promise that one day we'll come back here and slaughter those damned monsters down to the last man!"

A hint of life flashed in the young villager- no, the young man's gray eyes.

Donnel got to his feet and let out a shaky breath. "You're right, Hoopa, sir. You're right."

Seeing his resolve, I nodded.

At the same time, I suppressed the feeling of guilt welling up in my chest.

"Take my hand," I said. "We're leaving."

He did, though his gaze remained on the corpse of his mother.

"...I'm leavin' now Ma. But I'll be back. I promise! I... promise! And when I come back, I swear, I'll make them fields the best they've ever been! For you, Uncle Shaw... for everyone. I promise!"

A surge of shimmering darkness, coupled by the light of a hundred spells surged toward us.

I took a deep breath and focused on the feeling I felt when I managed to teleport to South Ylisse and-

"Synthesize: Void step!"

-Donnel and I vanished, leaving his ruined home and dead mother behind.

* * *

Level up!

Name: Hoopa

Class: Emissary

Level: 5

HP: 10/20

Str: 4

Mag: 0 (+7)

Skl: 3

Spd: 3

Lck: 0

Def: 6

Res: 10

Mov: 7

New Spells

Life Drain: Suck the life force of an opponent and convert it to mana. Lossy conversion, 10:1 ratio of enemy life force to mana converted. Prolonged usage degrades mental state, increasing bloodthirst and cruelty. Does not work on undead or those with higher Mag/Res.

Dark Spectrum: Using the life-force of a foe, empower yourself. Prolonged usage heavily degrades sanity. (+10 str,skl,spd,def)

Bend Blood: Using the principle of Blood and Mana conversion, allows the user to manipulate the blood in a target by wrapping it with their mana. Does not work against undead and those with inherent mana resistance hire than that of the user's Mag. Prolonged usage lowers morals and heavily degrades sanctity of human lives.

* * *

A/N: More dark magic corruption. Our hero needs Jes-, er a cleric, badly at that.

On a more serious note, Risen are drawn to Grima's power, or anything like it. Since our hero so conveniently uses the purest of dark magic, he learns the hard way that Risen will surge to him just as quickly as they do to a Reeking Box.

And poor Donny is now an orphan, all because Chrom and the others didn't pass by earlier and post some guards like they should have done if they recruited him.

And who might we have to blame for that, I wonder, hm? (points at our hero)

Anyway, thanks for reading and leave a review if you enjoyed or have any feedback!

Not sure if things seem too ham-fisted or not, so thoughts on that would be much appreciated.

Until the next!


	9. In which our hero takes a break-

In which our hero takes a break-

-Not.

* * *

 _Static._

Nausea. Pain. Disorientation.

 _Static._

I staggered and resisted the urge to vomit as we returned to the real world.

Donnel came over and offered a hand. "Hoopa, sir! Are you alright?"

I waved him off and took some slow, deep breaths to calm myself. "I'm... fine. And just call me Hoopa. I don't... deserve that title after what I did."

Guilt. Regret. Anger.

 _Static._

Threads of emotion ran high, coursing through my mind. _Invictus_ triggered, but it did nothing more than muffle them slightly. Apparently, it was too intense for even a spell that muted all emotions to handle.

Donnel shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Hoopa. Ma and the others-"

"Enough about that." I forced myself to focus, drawing together the few dregs of my scattered mind, and straightened. "For now, we have to get back to Ylisstol. With that many Risen around, it won't be safe wandering the countryside."

And it would be a good idea to tell the Shepherds about it. Mainly Robin. He should be able to come up with a plan or two about it.

I shook my head and glanced around my surroundings. My vision was blurry, but from the lack of dark and groaning blobs, it seemed that I'd manage to get me and Donnel out of the immediate danger that was a horde of countless Risen at least.

"Right. Then what's the plan, Hoopa? We gonna see the Exalt or something?"

I nodded. "Right. That and... see if we can get you a decent teacher on how to fight seeing as I'm a crappy swordsman."

Lack of an arm did not a good swordsman make. _Unless you're Emiya Shirou like in that one fic a long time ago._

Not him though, am I?

Continuing to talk, I said, "I should still have enough gold for that."

Another wave of nausea hit me.

I forced it down and blinked away the rest of the blurriness in my eyes so I could get a better look at where we were.

Thankfully, my senses went back to normal at that time, and the strange static I kept hearing vanished.

From the look of things, we'd ended up on the outskirts of Ylisstol somehow. Just outside the southern gate from the look of things, where I had entered with the others the first time around.

 _How lucky. Looks like you got a break for once._

I let out a sigh of relief and muttered, "At least some things are working out right."

I hadn't focused much on the destination, flubbing the spell a bit in my haste to 'anywhere but here'. I was glad that it worked out, considering how vague I'd been.

...That and secretly thankful we didn't end up trapped in the never-ending void or some other terrible place like that.

Gotta be grateful for the small things in life.

"So," Donnel said. "Where are we, Hoopa, s- er, Hoopa?"

"Looks like we're just outside Ylisstol."

"Eh?! Already?" Donnel's eyes widened and then he spun around, looking at our surroundings. "Well I'll be darned! We are! That magic of yours is amazin'!"

 _Amazing? Hah! Powerful and deadly is more like it._

I winced and clutched a hand to my head, trying to force out that voice.

Thankfully, Donnel didn't seem to notice anything strange.

"Yeah," I said. "My magic is pretty cool. Sometimes. Anyway, we should head towards the closest tavern. That should be the best place to find out what's going on, and with any luck-"

"There you are!"

A vaguely familiar female voice cut me off.

I froze, for a moment worried that I'd been found by one of the Shepherds.

 _Why? Think they'll blame you for the war? Hah, if anything they should be thanking you for all of your-_

Shut up.

I grit my teeth and shook my head, trying to clear it of that voice. When it seemed like it wasn't coming back, I turned towards the entrance, where the voice had come from.

I blinked. "Sofia?"

It was the maid who had been assigned to me when I first arrived in Ylisstol. While not in uniform at the moment, there wasn't any mistaking her appearance. Her normally strict hair bun was somewhat frayed and askew, as if she'd been running around. Her clothes, a simple brown tunic and skirt coupled with leather boots, were dusty.

All in all, she looked a bit worse for the wear.

"Geez," Sofia said. "Not even a month passes and you've already caused so much trouble. Do you even know how worried I've been?"

I smiled and scratched the back of my head. It wasn't like I _planned_ to do all of that. Well, maybe a bit. But even then, it wasn't completely my fault...

"God, you don't even understand how bad things are! Do you even know how many people have been worried about you? First you run off without saying goodbye, and then you pull that crazy stunt and- Geez, I swear you-"

Sofia ranted about how idiotic I was and what a stupid idea it was to try and save Maribelle on my own.

I grinned and bared it the best as I could, despite her harsh words.

After all, they were said out of concern and that fact was... touching actually. I hadn't thought there was anyone here who would care about me that much.

In the meantime, Donnel stood off to the side a bit awkwardly, his eyes flicking between me and Sofia.

After finishing up with her rant, Sofia noticed Donnel. She turned back towards me and crossed her arms. "Hold on." She narrowed her eyes, scanning me head to toe. "...What did you do?"

I felt a chill run up my spine and did my best to hide the fact that my left sleeve was now empty. "...Nothing."

Of course, me trying to hide the empty sleeve would draw attention to it.

Sofia's eyes grew wide and she stared at my left arm. Or rather, where my left arm would be. "...You didn't."

I avoided her eyes and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Didn't you learn your lesson from the last time? Idiot! You shouldn't be experimenting with Dark Magic like this! Geez, and I bet you're suffering from mana corruption now too, aren't you?"

Before I could protest, Sofia walked over to me and placed a hand on my forehead.

The act brought her face in close proximity with mine. Once more, I realized just how beautiful she was with her contrasting features and sharp eyes.

I also realized that it didn't cause me to feel anything more for her than familiarity, despite her breath-taking appearance.

"...I swear to God, you're such an idiot." Sofia took a step back, but not before grabbing my right arm. "Come on," she said. "We're heading back to the castle. You too, kid."

"Eh?" Before Donnel could do anything but say that, Sofia had grabbed his arm as well.

"Now hold your horses, ma'am! I can well walk on my-"

"Oh shut up," Sofia said. "I have had it up to HERE with everything. Now either you be good and come with me _quietly_ or I'll make you shut up."

Upon Sofia saying those words, the air seemed to visibly dim and fill with a malevolent aura.

Donnel gulped and nodded. "...Yes ma'am."

Note to self: Don't piss off the help.

* * *

"Your sister sure is scary, Hoopa."

"She's not my sister, but yes, I completely agree."

After dragging us back into the palace by Sofia, Donnel and I were told to wait in my room. The same one I'd been given on my first visit here.

It was exactly the way I left it, with parchment on the table from my experiments still untouched. Apparently, Emmeryn had been expecting my return and left everything undisturbed.

I sighed and gestured for Donnel to take a seat.

He nodded and pulled out one of the wooden chairs before sitting down.

I did the same and sat down in front of him.

"So what're we gonna do now, Hoopa?"

I sighed. "Good question, Donnel. I... don't know actually."

I had planned to just go hide away somewhere, maybe rent a room at a local inn while seeking out a teacher for Donnel, but those plans had to be thrown out with Sofia's sudden appearance.

And then there was the mystery of what was going to happen to us.

Sofia hadn't said a single word after dropping us off in my room, so I didn't know anything about the current situation. Were the Shepherds already on the march? Were they not? Did Emmeryn's assassination attempt happen yet?

I simply didn't know, so I wasn't able to think of any course of action to take other than wait.

 _You could always teach Donnel some-_

I immediately shook my head, stopping the voice from talking anymore.

Donnel gave me a weird look. "You alright?"

"I'm fine. Just... a bit of a headache."

"If you say so."

I paused for a moment, letting my head clear up, and then remembered what Donnel had just gone through and said, "But what about you?"

"Me?"

I nodded. "Are you alright? After what had just happened..." I trailed off, not able to find the proper words to say.

Donnel looked down and didn't say anything for a while. After letting out a long breath Donnel said, "I'd be lyin' to you if I said I was. Ma and the others... ain't no way I can just forget that. But you were right. If we didn't leave, I could never..."

He shook his head. "Ma always told me to live strong. After Da died, all she wanted was the best for me, you know?"

I nodded. That was a mother for you.

"Now Ma's gone. She and everyone else. But... I ain't gonna be weak. I mean, I am weak, but I'm not gonna live like some weakling." He looked up at me, eyes determined. "Life gone thrown some dirt on me, but goddarnit I'mma grow up into a towering tree and knock it all down! Course, I'll be needin' your help for that, Hoopa."

I smiled. "And you've got it."

"Ahem."

A cough drew my attention to the door.

Sofia was standing there, holding something in her right hand. "Not to disturb your 'manly' moment and all, but I'm going to have to ask Donnel to step outside for a bit."

Donnel's eyes widened and he looked between me and Sofia a few times before seemingly coming to a realization. "Well I'll be darned. You've got a maid and all to service you-"

"Like hell I am!" Sofia flushed red and dragged Donnel out of the room. She slammed the door shut the moment he was outside, but not soon enough for me to catch a glimpse of the guy winking at me.

I sighed.

Sofia let out a long breath and shook her head, muttering, "Stupid immature brat." After that she turned towards me and said, "As for you idiot, go sit on the bed, c-close your eyes and take off your shirt!"

My mind froze for a moment, processing her words and failing to do so.

"What?"

Sofia blushed and looked away from me. "D-don't make this anymore awkward than it already is, idiot! Just... go do it!"

I sensed that refusing would end badly, so I decided to do as she said.

I walked over to the bed and sat down before taking off my shirt, wincing a bit as I saw the full extent of what I had done to myself. But I could dwell on that later since Sofia was still standing there waiting for me to close my eyes.

I did, and a short bit later I heard her footsteps coming closer.

Something soft brushed against my chest, and I heard her murmur, "...It's worse than I thought."

Sofia's voice was close. Almost too close for comfort.

Now, if this was any other girl, I'd be squirming and making every excuse to get out of the situation. That, or I'd be trying my best not to embarrass myself at the fact that a beautiful woman was standing close enough for me to feel her breath against my skin.

Yet, sitting there, all I could think about was how there was something about her that was familiar. Something about her voice, her... aura? Mannerisms? Something about her that was familiar.

It wasn't attraction. I knew that feeling quite well. No, it was something else. Something comforting, familiar and almost nostalgic. Like a half-remembered memory of someone I'd once met-

Whatever thoughts I was having faded as I felt a sudden _tug_ inside my chest, followed by a burning sensation on my left side.

"Gah-!"

"Don't you _dare_ open your eyes right now! You'll ruin everything!"

Hearing Sofia's serious tone of voice, I grit my teeth and decided against my better judgment to do as she said.

A moment later, the tug had turned into an irresistible pull. It felt like everything that made me who I am was being torn away, wrenched out of my very soul.

Just when I couldn't resist it anymore, the tug subsided and I felt something warm envelop my body before settling into my chest.

Sofia let out a sigh and said, "There. You can... open your eyes now."

I did and say Sofia standing a few steps away from me. Her face was pale, and her dark hair was mottled with sweat. Her legs also looked a bit shaky, as if she would fall over at any moment.

Concerned, I said, "Are you-"

"I'm fine!"

She cut me off before I could even finish my question. "I'm fine," she continued. "Just... tired. It takes a lot out of you to purge someone of dark magic corruption, you know."

"...I didn't know."

Sofia took a seat on one of the chairs, turning it towards me, and scoffed. "Of course you didn't. That's why you ended up in this mess to start with! And you should be thankful that it was me who found out you had dark magic corruption in the first place. If it had been anyone else who tried that, you'd have been dead within the day, you know?"

-What?

Seeing my confusion, Sofia continued talking. "Dark magic isn't something a lot of people understand. While an average cleric or priest could have found out you had the corruption, they wouldn't have known how deeply it was entrenched. And if they had tried to cure you... well, you can only blame your own stupidity for messing around with dark magic the way you did."

I felt a cold pit in my stomach at those words.

Sofia continued. "While blood and mana conversion is strong and your spells might win you a few fights, the way you were using it would have taken the price from your soul. A few more times, hell one more time and you would've been dead." Sofia shook her head again. "Idiot."

I frowned. That didn't seem completely true. The price shouldn't have been taken from my soul. "What I was offering up should have been more than enough to compensate-"

"I don't give a damn what you think about it being enough, just don't use those spells anymore! Hell, don't use dark magic at all until you've increased your mana! There's a reason why there aren't a lot of dark mages, you know?! If you aren't skilled enough, you'll lose your mind first and then your life!"

A chill ran up my spine as I remembered the seemingly innocent book tucked away in my bag. Then I remembered how I'd found it and the creepy voice that had wormed itself in my mind after I'd used dark magic to save Maribelle.

In hindsight, that was probably a terrible idea. I mean, I really should have gotten my hands on a regular dark magic tome to compare notes before trying things out. After all, blindly trusting the words of someone who had created an ominous dark magic tome like I did was a STUPID idea.

"Anyway," Sofia said. "Get some sleep. If you're that desperate to get stronger, I'll teach you and that kid some stuff starting tomorrow morning."

"Eh? You know dark magic?"

Sofia scoffed, giving me an amused smile. "Know dark magic? Hah, I'm a veritable prodigy at it, and my fa- first teacher was the best Sorcerer of all time!"

Her smiled faded a bit and then turned into a look of concern. "Now, get some rest. You'll need it tomorrow. And don't worry about Donnel, I'll get him sorted out." That said, she got out of her chair and started walking towards the door.

"Wait," I said.

She stopped.

"I don't know what I'd have done if you didn't help me, Sofia. So... thank you."

She turned around her, her face cast in an unreadable expression. "...Don't worry about it. That's what I'm here for, to keep you out of trouble." She turned back around and said, "Now get some rest d-dummy!"

She left, slamming the door behind her.

I laughed and leaned back into my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Despite the sun still being up, before I knew it my mind was fading away and I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to a knock on my door. Opening it showed Sofia standing there with a bundle of clothes in her hands.

"New clothes?" I asked.

"Seeing as your old clothes are tattered, I figured you might want some new ones."

I nodded and took them from her. Looked like another pair of fine threads bearing the Ylissean insignia.

I sighed. "Isn't there anything less... fancy to wear?"

Sofia raised an eyebrow. "You're under the hospitality of the Ylissean family. Do you think they'd allow you to have anything but? There is a reputation for them to uphold, you know."

"True." I grabbed the clothes and headed towards the bathroom to put them on.

It soon became apparent that changing while having one arm was quite a difficult feat. All the more respect to all those in the world suffering from dismemberment. _You mean all those who got disarmed?_

Bad brain. Go back to working on trying to get the clothes on.

I managed to put on my pants easily enough, but buttoning the shirt was proving to be an impossible task.

I heard a knock on the door. "Need some help?" Sofia called out.

"...Looks like I do."

I sighed and walked out of the bathroom, the black silk shirt hanging around me half buttoned.

Sofia stepped close to me and swiftly buttoned the rest of it.

Thankfully, she didn't make things awkward by commenting or anything like that.

"...There. Now you look at least half presentable. Well, the hair's a lost cause, but it'll do."

"Hey," I said. "It's not my fault my hair doesn't like staying down."

Hair gel was always my go to. Not having it meant my hair flew all over the place because of its flowing nature. Would've been great if it was long and on a girl, but the way it was short and on me... well, let's just say it flew all over the place when I walked and made me look a bit ridiculous at times.

A thought hit me, remembering what Sofia said. "Wait. Why does it matter if I look presentable or not?"

"isn't it obvious?" Sofia said. "You're going to meet the Exalt. We can't have you walking in looking like some random traveler, especially due to your status."

I froze.

"...No."

I couldn't go meet Emmeryn. If I did, I'd have to meet Chrom and Lissa and the Shepherds.

I'd have to explain why I'd gone to save Maribelle and left.

...And they'd see me as a cripple.

Sofia straightened out the collar of my shirt and frowned. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"No means no." I took a step back and shook my head. "I can't go see them. Not like... this." I gestured towards my left arm.

I was a cripple now. Person who saved Maribelle be damned, I couldn't bear to see them look at me like-

"Again, you're an idiot. Do you think they'll care?"

I didn't respond for a moment and said, "What about Donnel?"

Sofia gave me an exasperated sigh and said, "He's now officially a part of the Shepherds and is getting shown his accommodations by someone. Now, stop making excuses and come with me."

She grabbed my arm and tried to pull me along, but I remained steadfast.

"I said no. I can't. I can't see them, not after- "

A voice called out, one I'd been dreading to hear. "Not after what, Hoopa?"

Emmeryn walked into my room, dressed in her formal attire.

Sofia turned around and bowed towards her. "Your Grace. Apologies for the delay, but sir Hoopa was being stubborn."

The maid cast me a mean look and then turned back to Emmeryn.

I froze.

Emmeryn looked at me, her eyes-

 _Judging, doubting, blaming_

-pausing for a moment at my empty left sleeve and then let out a long sigh.

"...It appears that I owe you an apology, Hoopa. But enough of that. Come, you must be hungry after your journey back to Ylisstol. Please, join me for breakfast."

I frowned. "Lady Emmeryn-"

"I've already told you that Emmeryn is fine, have I not, Hoopa? Now come. We have much to discuss."

She turned around and started walking away, no doubt expecting me to follow.

For a brief moment, I contemplated making a break for it, dark magic corruption or not.

Then I saw the look in Sofia's eyes, along with a small crackling of black lightning in her right hand and decided it wouldn't be *too* bad going along with Emmeryn.

Some mild embarrassment, guilt, and remorse was much better than having an angry dark mage at my heels.

Especially the one who I'd have to rely on for the time being for mundane things.

 _...I really should have just left the storyline alone..._

* * *

Emmeryn and I were seated in a small room. Sofia had left the two of us alone after we arrived, claiming other duties or something.

It was actually the same room that we ate together with Chrom last time, though I hadn't noticed much about it the first time I was there.

This time, I noticed almost every nook and cranny, doing my best to avoid the gaze of the one sitting in front of me.

We were seated at a wooden table in the center of the room. Oak, from what little I knew of woods, though again, for all I knew, it could be something like maple, or some wood not native to Earth. Some tea and biscuits, the cookie kind and not the bread, were placed in the middle of it.

There was a window nearby to my right, overlooking the castle courtyard. At the moment, there was nobody there save for a few guards on their patrol. I did notice, however, that there was a lovely view of some colorful flowers, blue, purple, and white.

Shifting my gaze from there, I saw that there were a few shelves behind Emmeryn on the wall in front of me. A few books were scattered about, though there were mostly various odds and ends, like a faded drawing and some clay molds of... dragons? Bears? Whatever it was, I couldn't tell.

To my left was a half mirror, somewhat plain yet kept in excellent condition.

And behind me was the door, so close and yet so far away.

"Nice, uh... room you have here Lady Emmeryn."

Emmeryn raised an eyebrow. "'Lady'? Why, Hoopa. I had thought we'd moved beyond formalities by now."

"Haha, right. Emmeryn it is."

She gave me a pleased smile. "There we go. Not too hard, was it?"

"No, not at all."

I did my best to hide my nervousness and took a sip out of the teacup in front of me.

Emmeryn did the same, though in a much calmer manner.

There was a long silence that seemed to stretch forever. Mainly because I didn't know what Emmeryn was going to say.

"So, Hoopa."

I flinched at being suddenly addressed, but managed to keep my tea from spilling. "Yes?"

If she noticed my actions, Emmeryn didn't say anything about it. Instead, she said, "Lady Maribelle tells me that it was you who saved her from her captivity."

"...I suppose that's true."

"And was it not you who said that parleying was the only way to allow her life to be spared?"

I gave her a curt nod. "That's... also true."

Emmeryn took a sip from her teacup. "...I'm surprised. From your actions and your abrupt departure, I would have thought you would have been long gone by now. Imagine my surprise when I hear that not only was Maribelle safely extricated from her captors, but that the one responsible was the foreigner who should have no reason to do so, especially not after being so abruptly taken from his home and finally finding a clue on how to return."

I let out an awkward laugh. "Haha... yeah, it was a surprise to me too."

There was another long silence.

I did my best to ignore it, taking a slow sip on my tea.

...I found myself wishing it was something a bit stronger than that.

"I do not understand you, Hoopa."

I almost choked on my tea, but managed to swallow.

"You hold no ties to this country, no deep friendships, and no true motivation to come to our aid. Quite the contrary, from being so suddenly drawn into this conflict, you should desire to be rid of us as soon as possible. Yet... you did not."

Emmeryn tilted her head. "Why is that?"

I set my teacup down, inwardly pleased at how calm I did it and looked into Emmeryn's eyes-

 _Holy crap, that's a strong gaze._

-Doing my best not to flinch from it and smiled.

"Would you believe me if I said I did it from the bottom of my heart?"

Emmeryn didn't speak for a moment, merely looking into my eyes.

 _That's a lie. You just wanted to play the hero, wanted to feel special._

Though the thoughts were dark, this time I recognized that voice as nothing but my own.

...It was true. The main reason I went to help Maribelle was because I wanted to be a hero, but beneath that, I simply wanted to help.

After a moment, Emmeryn sighed. "It seems like I was right about you, though I had hoped otherwise."

"Eh?"

Emmeryn smiled and shook her head slightly. "Nothing, Hoopa. Just an idle thought." Her gaze became serious and she bowed her head. "I must apologize, however. You went out of your way to save Lady Maribelle, and in doing so suffered severe injuries."

"Oh, this?"

I gestured towards my empty sleeve. "Hahaha, don't worry about it. It's merely a flesh wound."

Emmeryn seemed confused at my flippant manner of treating it. "Merely a flesh wound? Hoopa, losing a limb-"

"Like I said, it's just a flesh wound. It's not like there isn't a way to heal it. I just need some time."

Maybe. _Hopefully._

Like dissolves like. Since dark magic was the cause of it, I could probably get my arm back with using dark magic.

...Though I'd need to be careful about that. Lots of precautions, safety measures, studies, anatomy mappings...

Yeah. Might be a while.

"Oh?" Seeing the confident, well mostly confident, expression on my face, Emmeryn's eyes grew wide. "Your homeland's magic must be truly marvelous in that case."

"Well, considering that we've reached the moon, I'd say so."

My eyes widened at realizing what I'd let slip. _You're slacking! Get back in gear!_

"I can only imagine."

Thankfully, Emmeryn didn't seem to think too much about it, just taking it as another part of the wonderful and imaginary magic we on good ol' Earth had.

 _Sufficiently advanced technology..._

"Right, Emmeryn."

"Hm? What is it, Hoopa?"

"I haven't seen Chrom or the others around. Have they come back yet?"

That was something I'd just remembered. If everything was on course, they should have arrived by now.

"No. Well, they did return after you saved Maribelle, but with the coming war with Plegia, they've gone ahead to Regna Ferox to ask for their aid." Emmeryn sighed. "I wish it were not so, but Ylisse no longer has the ability to defend itself due to my father's..." Emmeryn trailed off.

Knowing it was a sore subject for her, I kept my mouth shut.

"In any case," Emmeryn said. "They should be returning in a few days. Did you have something you wanted to ask them?"

"Oh, no. I was just curious."

"Well," Emmeryn said. "With those matters out of the way, I'd like to ask you more about your homeland, Hoopa. It's been quite some time since we had a chat, after all."

"Er, don't you have some better things to do, Emmeryn? I mean, you're the Exalt and all, and with the coming war-"

Emmeryn sighed. "That is true, but... indulge me for a while, will you not? Think of it as recompense for causing us so much worry after vanishing for a week without word."

I froze. _A week?_

"Last time, I believe you mentioned something about... com-pew-ters?"

I shook my head slightly and focused back on Emmeryn. _You can think about that later._ "Right. Computers. Well, those are-"

* * *

After the chat with Emmeryn, one where we covered a huge range of topics from my definition of peace, what my homeland was like, as well as the educational system, she told me Sofia would be waiting in the castle training grounds and to make my way there.

Remembering the furious temper of the maid and her tsundere tendencies, I did just that.

I walked through the castle halls, making my way around with relative ease due to the time I'd spent there.

It was surprisingly empty though, and among the people I crossed paths with wandering around, they were mainly servants and various guards.

The nobility, it seemed, only showed up on important dates. That, or with the looming war, had decided to hole up in their estates.

I felt a pang of anger at the realization that the latter was the most likely scenario. Here Emmeryn was, doing her best to keep her country going after the disastrous reign of her father and yet the nobles still didn't treat her with proper respect.

 _Which is why you should focus on getting stronger so you can pay her back._

For once, the voice in my head was my own. That sinister voice had vanished after Sofia did the dark magic purge.

 _But how? Dark magic is strong, but..._

I was really enjoying being dark magic corruption free. No worries, my mind was focused, and I didn't have a crazy psychopathic voice whispering to me promises of power and the benefits of human utilitarianism.

That didn't leave me with many options though.

I paced a bit, mulling over my future courses of actions.

 _There's no way out for me. The Outrealm Gate doesn't exist, so I can't go home._

And hadn't that been an unpleasant surprise. I'm stuck here in this world with no special abilities, a dubious dark magic tome that was most likely cursed, and no way home. Not only that, but in just a few months, war was going to break out, followed a few years later by _another_ war, and then a dark demonic dragon's resurrection would serve as the climax.

Joy.

I had to learn how to fight. Barring that, how to control my dark magic properly so I didn't risk losing myself.

...And get a proper dark magic tome in the meanwhile.

I sighed. "Dammit. Why do _I_ have to deal with all this shit. Hell, why am I here in the first place?"

As expected, there wasn't an answer.

...Though the few people nearby gave me a weird look when I said that.

I shook my head and rounded the corner that would lead to the castle training grounds-

 _Thwack._

-And was promptly knocked onto my back by someone running past.

"Oh no. Are you alright, sir?"

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the lights floating in front of me. "I'm fine. Just a bit dazed." I blinked a few times and they vanished. When they did, I saw an outstretched hand before me.

Slender, with peerless white skin. I looked up to see who it belonged to and felt my breath stop.

Beautiful didn't begin to describe her. A flawless appearance, with skin as pale as the moon. Vivid red hair that contrasted perfectly with her skin. An elegant face and ruby eyes, just as precious as the true thing.

I had seen beautiful women before, but the one in front of me... well I finally realized what they meant by a 'breath-taking beauty'.

A few moments passed before I realized I was staring. When I did, I laughed and grabbed her offered hand. "Sorry about that. Guess I was more dazed than I thought."

She helped me up and said, "N-no problem. It was my fault to begin with for not watching where I was going."

She looked away from me, her face a bit flushed. Probably from the embarrassment of knocking someone to the ground. I know I'd be embarrassed if I'd done it.

"Cordelia!"

Another voice called out from down the hall.

 _Cordelia?_ She was Cordelia?

I did a double-take. Sure enough, the woman before me was the same one that I should have been familiar with, having played the game more than a few times. She even had on her armor and that wing hairpin thing.

 _...They really, really downplay her appearance._

Like, seriously. Cordelia's got to be the most attractive woman I'd met while here in Ylisse. Well... next to Sofia, but she didn't count.

 _Granted, you haven't met much of the cast yet._

True.

Anyway, Cordelia turned towards the voice and snapped a salute. "Captain Severa!"

"Eh?" _Severa?_

I turned towards the voice as well, expecting to see the local Fire Emblem tsundere round the corner only to see a woman that could best be described as the typical Fire Emblem Pegasus knight. Short black hair, a stern gaze. Fairly attractive, though nowhere near Cordelia's level.

I was confused for a moment before coming to a realization. _Oh, right. This must be the captain Cordelia talks about in her supports._ Her name was never mentioned, but it would make sense for Cordelia to name her daughter after the Captain who gave her life to save her.

The Captain (I refused to call her Severa) glanced at me and nodded her head in greetings. "Emissary." She narrowed her eyes though when she saw the dust on my clothes.

Wanting to forestall any trouble Cordelia might get into, I turned to Cordelia and said, "Thank you for helping me out of my fall, Lady Cordelia."

"Huh?" Cordelia blinked, seemingly caught off guard, and then said, "O-oh. Right! It's no trouble, Emissary."

The Captain gave the two of us a suspicious gaze before nodding. "It's good to see our resident Genius continuing with her excellence-"

I didn't miss the visible twitch Cordelia had at being called 'Genius'.

"-and I hope that she was able to be of some help to you, Emissary."

I smiled. "Again, it's no trouble. Now if you'll pardon me, ladies, I have some training I must get to."

Bidding them both farewell, I strode past them and towards the training grounds.

Though I didn't look back, mainly to hold my whole 'austere and noble' demeanor, it was hard not to sense Cordelia staring at me as I left.

 _Times like these I wish I was still oblivious about dark magic's consequences._

* * *

I arrived at the castle training grounds. In case anyone was wondering, they were the fields behind the castle proper.

There was plenty of room, at least a few football fields worth, as well as various straw dummies set up all over the place. From just a casual glance, one could tell that it was the place where the knights did their training.

Despite that, there wasn't anyone there at the moment save for two people. One was my ever lovable tsundere maid Sofia, dressed similar to a mercenary, and the other was Donnel.

Both of them were holding wooden training swords.

Sofia pointed her sword at Donnel and said, "Let's get this over with."

Donnel gulped. "Er, miss Sofia. Are you sure this is a good idea. I mean, I've never even held a sword before now and-"

"Trust me, you'll be fine. Now, don't you dare lose!"

"AH!"

Sofia charged forward, her sword slashing down at a blinding pace.

 _...Well, tough luck Donnel._

It was too fast, and even I wouldn't have had any chance dodging it.

The sound of wood hitting wood resounded.

Donnel blinked. Somehow, he had managed to get his sword up at the last minute and managed to parry. "-Eh?"

"...Damn," I muttered. "Underdog and Aptitude is broken in real life."

The strike had been clearly about to hit. Donnel, meanwhile, had been to slow to dodge. Yet, at the last minute, it was like hidden instincts welled forth and the young villager moved with all the skill of a natural swordsman.

"Amazing! I didn't know I-"

...Of course, in his surprise he didn't see Sofia's follow up attack that knocked him flat unconscious on the ground.

"...Sigh. Good talent, but looks like he's still a bit young." Sofia shook her head and turned towards me. "Well, your turn!"

"Wha-"

Before I could respond, a wooden sword was sent flying towards me.

Through sheer luck and panic, I somehow managed to catch it.

"What was that for?!"

Sofia started walking towards me. "What else, idiot? Now get ready. I'm definitely not going easy on you."

I scanned my surroundings, looking for a way out. _...And nothing._ I turned my attention back towards Sofia, who had changed her grip on the sword to more like how a myrmidon would attack.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Sofia charged towards me and slashed her sword at an angle, aimed towards my shoulder.

 _Like hell I'm taking that head on!_

I immediately turned and ran. Even then, I barely dodged the attack.

"Hey!" Sofia cried out. "What do you think you're doing!"

"I'm a mage, dammit!" I didn't slow down in the slightest, especially seeing how Sofia was still running after me. "I don't do sword fighting!"

"Well you'd better learn if you want me to teach you dark magic! My d-dark magic instructor always said the key to learning dark magic is the sword, so you'd better resign yourself to it!"

 _The key to dark magic is the sword?_

I frowned, considering those words. _How could that be true? Symbolic, maybe? Dark magic is a sword? But then what is a sword? Unless she means that using a sword would pave the way to acquiring greater mastery?_

"Stop running, dammit!"

I blinked, realizing I had managed to run nearly the length of the field while lost in thought. Unfortunately, Sofia was still fast on my heels, just out of sword strike reach.

 _...Fuck it. Might as well learn how to use it while I'm here._

I suddenly stopped and turned around, swinging my sword.

Sofia was caught off guard at the attack, but easily parried it.

 _Holy crap!_

A flash of brown swept towards my skull.

I scrambled back, and Sofia's attack missed.

She stopped, giving me a wide smile. "Good, good. Looks like you can at least swing that thing around. Now get ready, 'cause we're not gonna stop until you're a decent fighter."

Sofia pointed her sword at me.

I gulped and held my own sword up in front of me. _No turning back now._

"Here I come!" Sofia swung her sword back and...

...threw her sword up into the air.

"-What?"

"Aether!"

She leapt into the air, grabbing the sword at the same time and somehow kicked off of something in midair to come flying towards me with a slash.

"OH THAT IS _SUCH_ BULLSHIT!"

And thus began my daily training sessions with a bullshit overpowered maid.

* * *

A/N: We return to Ylisstol! ...But the Shepherds aren't here? Eh? What's wrong with the storyline, I wonder? Also, our hero begins training in earnest for the Plegian war... whether he wants to or not.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review on the way out if you feel like it.


	10. In which our hero gains some levels-

In which our hero gains some levels-

-and events diverge.

* * *

Pain. An all-consuming, throbbing, continuous pain.

I dragged my weary body towards my room, body still aching everywhere from my training session with Sofia.

It was night time. The castle halls were dark, lit only through torchlight. It was also empty, the normal inhabitants having gone to sleep long ago. The only ones left wandering about were me, Sofia, and the few guards making their patrols.

I grimaced as the phantom pain of being hit by Aether came to mind.

Sofia's training sessions... though she called them that, a more proper name would be 'battles with death itself'.

I didn't dislike the school of hard knocks. Hell, I whole-heartedly believed in it. Shounen manga and Saber had taught me that it was the fastest and most effective way of increasing someone's combat potential. Of course, it came at the cost of excruciating pain, but even that helped you learn your limits and fight through it during life and death situations.

Sofia did not subscribe to the school of hard knocks training philosophy. She subscribed to the Saiyan training philosophy. In other words, bring the trainee to the brink of death and yank them back before the soul flew away into the netherworld.

I hid a shudder as I recalled her words when I first asked for a break... particularly how she had misunderstood them.

 _"A break? The human body is capable of withstanding a lot of force before breaking, and after breaking it adapts so it can withstand more."_

That had led to a round of me being battered by a combination attack of Astra and Luna. When I had complained that it was dangerous...

 _"...Dangerous? Don't worry. I'm perfectly aware of how much damage a human body can withstand before breaking. Ah, and I know the proper way of healing with dark magic so that you keep the benefits from having your body break."_

 _That_ had led to a round of me having my remaining three limbs shattered, restored, then shattered again. Oh, and the muscles torn. Can't forget about the muscles. And when I asked to stop...

 _"Stop? Psh, this is only the second time you've almost died. We've still got a hundred more to go."_

I shuddered as the flashbacks of what Sofia put me through came to mind. Then I winced as the act caused a wave of pain to course through my body. I grit my teeth, pushing it down as best as I could and kept walking... well, limping.

The worst part of it all was that the pain I felt wasn't even real. My body was in perfect physical shape, what with Sofia's apparently heaven defying healing prowess. The pain I was feeling was just the memory of pain, an illusion that my brain was conjuring up at the impossible lack of injuries.

After a seeming eternity, I finally got to the door of my room.

I quickly grabbed the handle, using it as support to lessen the load on my body, and then turned around.

Sofia was standing there, an amused look in her eyes.

Unlike me, who had been physically, emotionally, and to some level even spiritually damaged, she was perfectly unscathed. Hell, there wasn't even a single strand of hair sticking out from the bun she kept it in.

"Did I tell you how much I hate you?"

Sofia laughed. Considering that she was in a French maid outfit again (still not sure how she pulled that off without me noticing), could win the pageant for Miss Universe hands down, and had a laugh that sounded like crystal bells, I should have been happy to hear it.

Hell, I was sure any other guy would probably kill to be in my current situation.

...They would also probably be dead.

"Oh yes," Sofia said. "Over a hundred times and counting."

I nodded, doing my best not to glare at the evil bullshit maid who could probably solo all of Plegia in one go with her bullshit gale force combination bullshit skills.

"Good," I said. "Just letting you know."

A small victory, the only one I would get from her with her utterly bullshit combat and healing abilities.

I sighed and opened the door to my room before walking in.

Sofia didn't follow, choosing to stand at the doorway. "I've already had someone else draw up a bath for you," she said. "When you're done, go straight to sleep. You'll need every bit you'll get for tomorrow's training."

I froze, letting out an involuntary shudder at the thought of having to go through that torturous training regime again.

Hell, it was probably worse than Frederick's Fitness hour. No, not probably. _Definitely_ worse than Frederick's Fitness hour. In fact, I could probably do Frederick's Fitness hour in my sleep after what Sofia had put me through.

"But don't worry," Sofia said. "I'll make sure Donnel comes along. You two can be partners in mis-, er mastery of combat skills."

I didn't miss the slip Sofia had. Didn't bring it up though, considering that I'd only gone through day one of the whatever hellish training regime she had thought up to bring us both up to speed.

Donnel... remembering the young villager made me wince.

Sofia putting me through the wringer didn't mean she let Donnel off. Oh no, it wouldn't be that easy. It turned out that Sofia knew the shadow clone jutsu, or whatever passed for it in this world.

Donnel, being younger and more 'malleable' according to Sofia, was subjected to an even harsher routine, the likes of which could probably make even hardened criminals beg for mercy.

He'd screamed at first, but after a while the screams had stopped. And then Sofia's clone had thrown him over her shoulder and walked off somewhere in the castle.

I would be worried... if not for the fact that I'd been through hell and back as well. And that he had the bullshit aptitude and underdog skill, so he would be improving even faster than I would because of it.

"Ahem." Sofia gave me a stern look and pointed towards the bathroom.

"Right." I quickly walked in my room before she changed her mind. "I'll go do that now."

"Good." Sofia smiled, an angelic sort of expression that in no way promised harm, mutilation, or potential murder.

I knew better, of course.

"See you first thing tomorrow then!"

I gave a rigid nod in response.

Sofia closed the door and left, presumably to her own room.

 _Or to the depths of hell where she came from._

Yes. I was still bitter about being physically killed over a hundred times. So sue me.

There was steam and flickering candlelight coming from the bathroom. Apparently, Sofia hadn't been lying about that bath.

 _Thank God for small mercies._

I made my way to the bathroom, ignoring the random and severe bouts of pain coursing through my body.

An herbal scent was in the air. A glance at the tub once I entered the bathroom revealed that the color was slightly off, a shade of green that reminded me of the vulneraries I had in my bag.

I briefly debated whether or not the bath was another hellish training tactic that would have me screaming in pain.

...It took me longer than I would have liked, but I eventually rationalized that Sofia had probably given up on inflicting more pain on me for the day.

That, and someone else had drawn up the bath, so it couldn't be too bad.

"Right?"

I muttered and took off my clothes as best as I could with one hand and then climbed into the tub.

The temperature that wasn't too hot to be painful, but it was still hot enough to relieve the tension in my body. Well, it was either that or the herbal concoction mixed in that helped, but either way, it was nice.

I let out a long sigh and slunk deep into the water, letting it soak up all of the pain and wash away the memories of recent traumatic events.

Traumatic events caused by Sofia, the insanely competent and bullshit maid.

 _Seriously. What's up with that?_

It was way, way too suspicious. Her capabilities were way too high to be normal. Like, if she was a part of the team in the game, with her alone I could probably clear the entire story. Seriously. She had pretty much every skill imaginable, could use dark magic in ways I didn't even imagine could be possible until I saw her use it, _and_ had perfect control of both her movements and magic.

It made me wonder why Emmeryn didn't just deploy her to deal with Plegia and be done with it.

 _Then again, it's probably a secret._

That made sense. Emmeryn probably didn't even know Sofia could do all of that.

...Or Sofia had gone and did some dark magic voodoo that made them all forget she was there. That or mind wipe them every time they found out.

 _I wouldn't put it past her, really._

She did have a sadistic streak a mile wide...

That brought up a different question though. _Who is she?_

I mean, Sofia obviously wasn't one of the main story characters. I would have recognized her if she was. She did seem vaguely familiar though, so maybe she was from somewhere else?

 _Anybody I know?_

Hm. Could she be someone else sent here to Ylisse? Her mannerisms were a bit out of touch with the culture around here.

...And she occasionally made references to things from Earth, now that I thought about it. Like knowing what a tsundere was and beating the crap out of me for that comment.

Anyway, it was seriously weird. _And you're using seriously a lot recently._

Hey, serious situations require serious wordage.

So, the identity of Sofia, the mystery BS maid. _Maybe she's one of the children from the ruined future?_

I paused for a moment and ran through the roster in my head.

...Nope, no one fit her description. Well, Severa kinda did, but only through the virtue of the two acting like tsunderes at times. Besides, Sofia didn't look anything like her.

 _What if she's your kid?_

I paused.

 _...Nah. No way._ It would be way too obvious. Besides, if that had happened, I would have given her some stuff to pass onto me to make things easier. Like a detailed book of future events or some super powered cheat item. Especially if I had started out the same way I did here.

You know, running for my life from a horde of creepy zombies while the world was collapsing around me.

If it was me, having managed to live through that to the end of the game, I would have _definitely_ made some contingency plans. Especially if I couldn't beat Grima due to the virtue of being trapped in the Future Past timeline.

 _Then the verdict?_

She's probably either an Outrealmer or some overpowered secret weapon of Ylisse that never came into play because the in-game characters are broken for the most part.

...Maybe.

 _Does it matter?_

Not really, though it did get me curious.

 _Then now what?_

The Shepherds still weren't back. Plegia was gearing up for war. And... I don't know how things are gonna play out.

"Looks like level grinding time."

I sighed and closed my eyes for a bit, letting the warm water do its thing.

* * *

After that, a week passed. During the week, I trained nonstop with the bullshit maid that was Sofia. Through judicious usage of her dark magic healing and numerous near death experiences, I managed to attain a decent level of skill in the sword. Probably C rank, if I was in the game. I also learned the proper way to use dark magic, namely by gaining actual reagents and catalysts to use.

You know, like a book with spirit dust pages that supply energy to fuel spells instead of pouring out my lifeblood and mana.

...Yeah, I learned how tomes work. They were bound pages that had runes printed with spirit dust. While it was entirely possible to cast spells without said tomes, like I had been doing, unless you had Arch sage level reserves, that would end up throwing you in the infirmary more often than not.

Or go insane from mana corruption like I almost did.

...Bad ideas were bad.

I'd also seen Cordelia a few more times. My daily 'training sessions' with Sofia had become something of a spectacle for the knights who had been used to being on the receiving end while Frederick was there.

Frederick wasn't there, though, so there wasn't any need for them to endure such grueling training, and it was amusing for them to see someone else suffer the gauntlet.

Donnel was my partner in suffering... for the first day. After that, the true benefits of underdog and aptitude reared its head. He quickly gained talent and soon was on par with Sofia. Well, in so much as he didn't get knocked flat on his back after the first strike.

He still got knocked out more often than not, but he at least managed to stay conscious for a few rounds.

Me on the other hand... let's just say that Aether, Luna, and all those other skills are bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

On the bright side, I managed to get to a level where I could instinctively tell when they're about to be triggered.

On the down side, pain. So much pain.

The Shepherds were apparently still in Regna Ferox. The trip there and back took quite some time, it seemed. Made sense considering the fact that it was so far north.

Unfortunately, that meant that I was at a complete loss on what to do. From what I managed to learn from Sofia and Emmeryn (discreetly of course), the assassination attempt on Emmeryn had happened and Validar had shown up. Robin managed to guide everyone through it safely enough, and the dark sorcerer was killed... at least supposedly so.

That meant that we should be at the part in the story where Emmeryn was supposed to be sent to the safe castle in the east... or somewhere there about. But she didn't go, and instead of that, the Shepherds had taken another trip up north for reinforcements.

Which meant that either my actions had diverged the storyline... or I was about to get stuck in the Plegian invasion that led to the fall of Ylisstol in the game.

Sitting at the desk in my room, I closed my journal and let out a sigh. The quill and well of ink I used to write in it were set off to the side, having finished with their duty.

I looked out through the window before me, something I hadn't noticed much when I first entered my room, but had become a constant companion in recent times. Through it, I saw the blue sky above and the green courtyard below, splashed with the vibrant colors of flowers scattered about, as well as the gray of pavement and cobbled stone paths.

It was empty. Of course, that was probably since it was early morning. That, and the ones who would normally wander through the courtyard weren't present. Nobles that usually frequented the castle had retreated to their individual estates and fortresses. Emmeryn was busy with managing the affairs of the kingdom, continually in council with her advisors. Chrom and the Shepherds had yet to return from Regna Ferox.

That only left the maintenance workers, but on this day, it seemed that they weren't planning to do any cleaning in the courtyard.

That, or Emmeryn had given them the day off. Something she was doing more often these days.

I sighed.

The ever looming war with Plegia. They'd been quiet. Almost too quiet. From the occasional meeting I had with Emmeryn, it appeared that there hadn't been any bandit raids recently either.

It bothered me. Events weren't playing out like I had expected them to.

Probably my fault, but either way, it was troubling me.

At this point, I could hold my own in combat. And that was before using my trump cards that Sofia had warned me not to use under threat of death, though would allow me to take out even Walhart (probably).

Me suddenly dropping dead was no longer a concern if I wanted to go wandering about Ylisse. My greatest fear since arriving in this world, namely that of staying alive, was no longer a huge concern.

 _So why do I feel like something's off?_

Donnel was pretty skilled now as well, so it wasn't worry for him. There hadn't been any assassination attempts on Emmeryn, which was expected if the storyline was proceeding as normal.

 _Is that it?_

I frowned.

Was I being worried because things were too normal? It could be. With all I'd gone through recently, it was possible that I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It couldn't be this easy for so long.

After all, my luck wasn't that good, despite me living this long.

I shook my head. _Nah. It should be fine. Besides, the Shepherds will be back soon. Robin, the ever masterful tactician that he was, will surely figure something out._

I decided to stop worrying about it. After all, today would be the first day I had off from training with Sofia in a whole week, and I would do my best to enjoy it.

I got out of my seat and made my way out of my room. _What should I do today?_

The hallways were empty as usual, save for the occasional servant or two. Sofia was off doing... something. Donnel was nowhere to be found, even after I prowled through the Shepherds barracks. Cordelia and most of the Pegasus knights had been deployed to the border. Heck, most of the knights in general were missing, having been sent out by Emmeryn to protect the citizens in case of Plegian ambushes.

With nothing better to do and no one to talk to, I found myself walking towards the same small room where Emmeryn and I usually chatted.

 _And here I am thinking that I wouldn't mind boredom anymore._

I sighed and walked inside the room.

Emmeryn wasn't there. Not like I expected otherwise, considering how busy she must be recently.

"Still, this doesn't give me much to do..."

The castle was empty, and I didn't feel like bothering the hardworking servants just for an idle chat.

Not to mention that they would act all formal with me, which rubbed me the wrong way.

I let out another sigh and scanned the room before resting my gaze on the bookshelf I had noticed last time.

"I wonder what kinds of books Emmeryn reads?"

I got out of my seat and walked over to the shelf before glancing at the titles of the few books there.

"The hero king Marth, the girl from the plains... huh. Looks like fictional retellings of the other Fire Emblem games."

From the brief skimming of their titles and of their pages, I realized that the books were dramatized versions of the game plots from past Fire Emblem games.

I set the book back and was about to leave the room to wander the castle some more when I noticed a smaller book that had been hidden away beneath them.

"Huh? What's this?"

I picked it up. Unlike the dusty and aged pages of the books, the pages were newer, fresh. After sitting down and flipping through it, I noticed that it was in a handwriting that wasn't familiar to me, a sort of graceful and elegant style, unlike the print in most of the books I had read here.

"Is this a journal?"

From the few bits I got while flipping through it, the book seemed to be Emmeryn's. It entailed her thoughts on her rule, the duties as such, and other trivial manners.

I almost felt guilty for skimming through it, but when I reached the last page, that guilt vanished.

"I have received word that the Plegian army has reached the border. They seek to parley, demanding a meeting between Gangrel and I. Though it seems unlikely that they will call an end to the war, knowing that there may yet be a peaceful conclusion, how can I not accept? Still, I had hoped that I could have seen Chrom and Lissa once more... no, I mustn't think that. Surely the Plegians desire peace as well. Naga, I can only hope so. And if not... I hope that my death will at least quell their anger..."

I snapped the book shut. "Emmeryn, you noble fool."

Pieces were coming together. The reason why the castle seemed so empty, why I couldn't find Sofia or Donnel.

There wasn't any time.

I jumped out of the seat and ran out of the room. _She can't have been gone too long._

I ran throughout the castle, ignoring the incredulous stares from the servants. _Dammit, dammit, dammit._

I reached my room and rummaged through my bag. A quick glance inside revealed an iron sword Sofia had gotten me just in case of emergencies like this, a simple flux tome she had gotten me for the same reason, that accursed book of dark magic for dummies (which in hindsight, really was a dark magic for dummies book considering how stupid you needed to be to use it) and a few vulneraries.

"Alright, that should be enough. If it isn't... fuck it. There's not enough time anyway."

I struggled to put the sword on for a few moments before deciding to just sling it over my right shoulder. Following that, I pulled out the flux tome from my bag before throwing my bag over my shoulder as well.

"Time to put theory to the test. Synthesize, Accel!"

The flux tome crackled as my spell drew from the energy of the spirit dust, the pages beginning to crumble as the sheer force of my spell drastically reduced its durability.

At the same time, I felt my body lighten and _knew_ that I could move at superhuman speeds.

"It worked. Good."

I didn't bother to test out if there were any side-effects before I ran over to the window, wrenched it open, and then climbed onto the roof.

Once there, I had a bird's eye view of Ylisstol. And because I did, I could see the crowd of people gathering in the western entrance of Ylisstol. However, with how far away they were, I couldn't tell if they were Plegian or Ylissean.

 _Go, now!_

An indistinct sensation coursed through my body. A sort of instinct that told me I would absolutely regret it if I didn't go, _now_.

I grit my teeth and decided to use up the rest of the flux tome to reinforce my body before leaping off the castle roof and towards the other roofs between me and the entrance.

 _Hurry!_

I moved, faster than ever now that my body had been continuously pushed to its limits and restored by Sofia. If anyone were to look at me, they would have only seen a brief dark blur before it vanished from view.

My heart raced, an undetermined sense of dread welling up for reasons I couldn't explain.

Rooftop to rooftop, house to house. Doing so, I managed to reach the western entrance.

I jumped down from the house I was on, ignoring the fact that I was three stories above the ground.

I landed in the middle of the road, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and drawing the attention of countless townsfolk.

But only for a moment. Almost immediately, the attention was turned back to the entrance.

I grabbed the closest person I could find, a balding middle-aged man and said, "What's going on here? Why is everyone gathered at the gate?"

He didn't say anything, only shaking his head and turning away.

I scowled and turned my attention towards the gate.

Due to the crowd of people, I wasn't able to get a clear view of what was happening, even from up above, which was why I jumped down.

I started pushing my way through the crowd, forcibly making my way to the gate.

"Hey!"

"Watch it!"

"You-! In this time of-"

Voices, exclamations all called out as I pushed my way through. But I ignored them all.

I was getting closer to the gate now. Only a few more steps and I would emerge to the source of the commotion-

 _STOP._

I found my body coming to an instant halt against my will, mere steps before seeing the source.

As if every nerve in my body was telling me to look away. As if my very being was against me witnessing the following event.

I grit my teeth and pushed through the last of the people blocking my way-

 _No. No, no, no!_

I took a step back, and yet my gaze didn't shift from what I was seeing.

 _This can't... no. This shouldn't be happening. This is impossible. There's no way... no way...!_

A half dozen Plegian wyvern riders. A burly man letting out cold laughter standing in front. And at their feet-

 _Static._

-was...

 _Static._

My body moved before I could finish that thought, before I could accept the reality of what I was seeing. I surged forward, my sword somehow in my hand before I could even think about drawing it-

 _Thunk._

A sharp pain in the back of my head, followed by a familiar feminine voice. "...You should have stayed at the castle."

I staggered, the strong blow causing my vision to fade. "No. I have to..." I shook my head, trying to cling to the last bits of consciousness I could. "She's... have to..."

"Sleep. There's nothing you can do now."

Despite my daze, I recognized the voice. "Sofia, you-"

There was another strike to my head, and my vision faded.

The last thing I saw was Emmeryn's peaceful smile... and her broken corpse.

* * *

End of Book 1: A Drop in the Waves of Time

* * *

A/N: Right. So that happened.

Next time: In which the Shepherds Return.

Thanks for reading, and leave a review on the way out if you want.

Until the next!


	11. In which the Shepherds Return

Start of Book 2: Butterfly Effect

In which the Shepherds triumphantly return-

-and our hero rains on their parade

* * *

I woke to the sound of clashing steel and death cries in the distance.

Almost immediately, I jumped to my feet, scanning my surroundings.

An alleyway. It seemed that Sofia had dragged me away from the scene and into a place some distance away.

From the position of the sun in the sky, it seemed that almost no time at all had passed since-

 _Her smile, her broken corpse. Blood pooling beneath her body._

 _...Your fault._

I grit my teeth and shook my head. There was time to think about that later.

From the fact that there were sounds of battle nearby, it would seem that Plegia had made their bid to take over Ylisstol. Perhaps Gangrel was even nearby.

Think. What should I do in this situation?

 _There's nothing you can do now._

I remembered the words Sofia said to me before she knocked me out.

"Nothing I can do?"

Ylisstol was being invaded. Chrom and the others had yet to arrive. Who knew where Sofia and Donnel were.

"...You might be right."

I was one man against an army. If it was Sofia, she could probably do it. But I got the sense from her that she didn't care all that much about Ylisse, let alone Ylisstol. And now that I thought about it, the only ones she seemed to interact with around the castle were me and Donnel.

A mystery for another day. For now, I had to determine my next course of action.

Even if I was just one man against the Plegian army. Even if Ylisstol was fated to fall today... would I be willing to allow it to happen?

This had been my fault. Even if no one would blame me for it, even if Chrom and the others absolved me of my guilt, I could never erase it from my own mind.

Had I not gotten involved with rescuing Maribelle, there would have been parley between Ylisse and Plegia. Also, Gangrel wouldn't have been so decisive. But with my actions, he had full excuse to use more brutal methods. It was why he had killed Emmeryn directly instead of kidnapping her, like he should have.

I was one man, and yet my actions had changed history. Had led this world's story down a different path. The responsibility for the following events were placed solely on my shoulders.

 _Your fault._

It was my fault. The repercussions of reckless involvement. Of trying to be a hero when I wasn't one. When I was nobody special to begin with.

I could die. Even with the training course from hell Sofia had put me through, it wouldn't be enough to stop the trained soldiers of Plegia. Even with Blood and Mana conversion, even by putting my life on the line, the most I could do would probably be to stall the army's advance.

"...It's going to have to be enough."

The Shepherds were on their way back. I didn't know how long it would be until they arrived, but it might be soon enough to prevent Ylisstol's fall. And barring that, maybe with me placing my life in danger, Sofia might decide to come back from wherever she was at the moment and help out in the battle.

I nodded, decision made.

Despite leaving me behind here in this alley, Sofia had left me my iron sword and flux tome, along with my bag. And from the heavier weight in it, she had left behind some more items as well.

A quick glance inside showed that it had been stocked with a few vulneraries and... a Nosferatu tome?

Seeing that, I couldn't help but shake my head. "...You've got a weird way of telling me that I can't do anything, Sofia."

With the Nosferatu tome, I could actually use Blood and Mana conversion without fear of dark magic corruption. The spell tome was already designed to restore life force by taking it from the enemy, so it was a perfect medium for my purposes.

"Alright."

Sword, check.

Flux tome, check.

Nosferatu tome, check.

Vulneraries... check.

I glanced out through the alleyway and towards the street.

 _Are you really going to do this?_

A moment's hesitation. I could easily hide out here. The alleyway Sofia had left me in was well hidden from the main street. It was dark, casting just enough shadows to obscure everything from view and narrow enough to prevent anyone from wielding a weapon.

It would be safe. It would be easy. It would be what I should do, what I _would_ do if it was the me who first came here.

But now...

Emmeryn had given me a safe place to stay in my confusion. Chrom had granted me a title that allowed me to stand on even ground with the nobles. Ylisstol in general had served as a sanctuary for me while I was lost, having been thrown into this world with no aid or direction.

It was a kindness with no ulterior motives. A kindness I repaid by sparking the war with Plegia early, failing to save Donnel's family, and now failing to save Emmeryn.

It would have been safe to hide away. It would have been easy to hide here and forget all that was happening. It was what I should do...

"But sometimes, you have to choose between what is easy and what is right."

I recalled the conversation I had with Maribelle after I had saved her. Of me realizing the difference between us. Of how she was someone willing to lay down her life for her country. Who would rather die than see it embroiled in the flamed of war.

At the time, I didn't understand. But now...

 _I hope that my death will at least quell their anger..._

...I still wasn't sure if I did. But I would be damned if I would allow Emmeryn's sacrifice to go in vain.

With a determined heart, I dashed out of the alley and into the main street.

-Emmeryn had died for her people. Though I couldn't do much...

"...Naga, if you're listening, at least help me do a little to save her people."

...I had to try.

* * *

Emerging onto the street from the alleyway, I realized that it was the same street where the Plegians had-

 _thrown her broken corpse onto the ground_

-shown up. The one leading to western entrance of Ylisstol.

I didn't know how the other entrances faired, but from the fact that they had chosen this one to show up at, as well as the fact that Plegia was to the west of Ylisse, it would be where the majority of their forces would arrive.

The crowd of people filling the street had dispersed, though I noted that there were a few unlucky souls who didn't manage to flee in time.

Fires had been lit, causing the air to be filled with smoke, a scent intermingled with the iron smell of freshly spilled blood.

I was a fair distance away from the western entrance.

-Ylisstol had a central plaza which was divided into the four streets leading to the other main entrances, as well as a path leading to the castle. If the Plegians managed to reach this, it would be all too easy for them to sack the castle.

Perhaps because Emmeryn had ordered them not to while she met with Plegia, or perhaps because they were yet unaware, the knights that had not gone with the Shepherds to Regna Ferox were nowhere to be found.

That meant that I was the only one standing between the invading Plegian army and the castle.

I would be lying if I said I didn't find that terrifying.

My heart was throbbing, pounding as if it wanted to fly out of my chest. My knees were shaking, and if they could make noise, would no doubt sound like a pair of rattles playing staccato notes at about 200 beats per minute.

-But I couldn't falter here.

Screams were echoing throughout Ylisstol, the citizens in both despair and terror at their Exalt's fall and Plegia's invasion.

I let out a long breath and took a step forward towards the Plegian army. _Invictus_ triggered, and I felt a calm settle over my mind, allowing me to focus on the task at hand.

The few citizens nearby stopped to take a look. "Who's that? Is he crazy?"

"He's... going to fight the Plegians alone? Does he have a death wish?!"

"That emblem on his clothes... that's the Exalt's brand! The only one who has that right now..."

"The Emissary! He's the Emissary that Lord Chrom brought into Ylisstol a few weeks ago!"

"I thought he left for his homeland? Could it be that he returned with reinforcements to save us?"

I heard the chatter grow, more and more people questioning why I was there and why I was standing alone.

I paid it no mind, focusing on the Plegians before me.

...These were no untrained bandits. The men were lined up in an orderly fashion, some battle formation that I didn't know, but one that showed no gap in their defenses. At the front were cavalry, leading the vanguard. Behind them were archers and dark mages, intermingled for ranged support. And leading them all from the back was that same burly man I had seen who showed Emmeryn's corpse. A general, judging from his armor.

The enemy general saw me walking towards them and said, "A sole man is all the resistance Ylisse has to offer? And a cripple at that?" He let out a booming laugh. "I guess it was true that the Exalt disbanded the army after the war!" Following those words, the general sneered and said, "Looks like it's Ylisse's turn to be razed to the ground! Men!"

At the general's shout, the cavalry raised their lances and the ranged attackers prepared their bows and tomes. "Let's show Ylisstol how we feel about their 'peace'!"

The street thundered with the sound of over a dozen horses charging towards me. Light gleamed off of silver lances, showing that these men were the elite, and no simple cannon fodder.

The people behind me screamed, and I heard the sounds of fleeing footsteps as they made haste to put as much distance between them and the advancing soldiers as they could.

Even through _invictus_ , I could feel the growing dread inside me. Who wouldn't, faced with an advancing army and no support?

But I pushed that down.

I could not run. Though I could still live if I ran, could still escape from this advancing army, that would mean allowing more casualties while the Ylissean knights mobilized. That was something I couldn't allow. And besides, if I ran then and there... I would be losing something far more valuable to me than my life.

Instead of fleeing, I drew forth my Nosferatu tome.

One of the advancing cavalry saw my action and said, "He's a mage! Be careful!"

Another said, "So what, he's one man!"

The distance between me and the soldiers was a distance of over twenty meters. Even the fastest horse among them would require a few seconds to close the gap.

-I was weak. Even with Sofia's sadistic training, there was no way in hell I could stand against these men through ordinary means. The Shepherds probably could, but as for me alone, no way.

...But I didn't just have ordinary means at my disposal.

I let out a breath, mentally preparing myself. It would be a gamble. Sofia had stressed more than enough that with my current pool of mana, trying to use the spells I'd made to fight would be purposefully taking one foot in the grave. Like burning a man to keep him from freezing to death.

The cavalry halved the distance, only a breath away from running me through.

 _Do it._

"Synthesize: Blood and Mana conversion!"

A torrent of darkness burst from my tome just as the first of the cavaliers arrived. It erupted with enough force to physically repel the advancing charge, knocking every rider back a few paces.

"What the-?"

The road became pitch black, all light obscured by the encompassing darkness from my spell. Cries of confusion sounded out from the cavaliers that charged into it.

"What kind of spell is this?"

"Argh, my skin is burning!"

"What in Grima's name-? GRAGH!"

"MY ARMS!"

Cries of confusion quickly turned into those of fear as the effects of my spell washed over them.

 _YES. TAKE THEIR BLOOD, THEIR LIFE, THEIR POWER._

The voice that had been absent for the past week returned. That sinister whispering in the back of my mind, that _thirst_ for more strength.

I felt my pool of mana expanding with every second, the fuel I had to work with increasing at an almost exponential rate.

"Dammit!" The enemy general cried out. "Since when did Ylisse have a dark mage?! Cavalry, fall back! Archer and mages, advance!"

 _TOO LATE! HAHAHAHA!_

The darkness vanished with a single thought. Where before there had been a line of advancing cavalry, riders garbed in armor and riding upon armored war horses, there was nothing left but cracked metal and bones that were turning to dust even as they were gazed upon.

I dropped my tome and clutched my head, feeling a splitting headache emerge.

"Quick! He's weakened!" The general shouted out again. "Signal the wyvern riders! Take him out!"

A mage shout a burst of fire into the sky, and then a large shadow swept down from above. At the same time, I heard fierce roar resound through the skies, the intimidating sound of a wyvern.

When my tome hit the ground, it shattered, turning into dust. The act of my last spell proved too much for it.

 _MORE! MORE BLOOD, MORE MANA, MORE POWER-_

I ignored the maniacal voice in my head and pulled out my flux tome. It was already close to breaking from my frantic use of it to get to Emmeryn, but there was still enough to get out one more spell, two if I was careful.

I glanced at the western gate. The enemy general was standing there, along with the remaining archers and mages. However, in the distance I could already see more soldiers en route.

-Idly, I noticed that Emmeryn's body was nowhere to be seen. _Hopefully that's Sofia's doing._

I could use my flux tome as intended and take out the wyvern riders, but that would leave me with no catalyst to reinforce myself for the inevitable melee. Then again, the mages up ahead would be carrying some as well.

Or I could use my flux tome to start my reinforcement spell and then fuel it with my recent ill-gotten mana, which might be enough to see me through this.

The faint whistling of a thrown spear told me that my time to think was over.

"Synthesize-"

 _YES! POWER, STRENGTH! SHOW THEM-_

"-Mind of steel."

 _WHAT? YOU-_

I heard a burst of static, and then my mind was quiet, calm yet focused, like a sheathed sword ready to act at a moment's notice.

The main concern with not using a tome had been the voice in my head, that sinister whispering that drew me towards bloodlust and gaining strength with a complete disregard for anything else. The more I drew from my own reserves, the greater it grew.

...But it was a part of me, and according to the principles of dark magic, it was something I could sacrifice to cast a spell.

-An exploit. Sofia hadn't mentioned this, and 'that' book didn't say anything about it as well. The greatest worry of a dark mage was losing their mind and soul to the corruption of dark magic. This spell would prevent that from occurring, sacrificing any corruption of my mind or magic to instead reinforce my focus.

...Unfortunately, it seemed to restrict the power of my magic as a result. Where before I felt a vast ocean of power, now it was more like a puddle.

-But it was still enough to use reinforcement.

My flux tome crumbled in my hands, and I dodged the thrown spear, a feat easily accomplished with my hyperaware mind. Out of the immediate danger, I quickly cast reinforcement. A faint hum of power in my body told me it succeeded without a hitch, though I also felt my reserve of mana quickly dropping. It seemed that I wouldn't have more than a few minutes of enhanced abilities without gaining more mana.

"You incompetent fool!" The enemy general called out again. "Gragh! Mages and archers advance! If the wyvern rider can't take him out, you do it!"

The wyvern rider that had tossed the spear swooped down to attack. A halberd was held in his hand, and he was armored in crimson platemail.

Armed with only a sword, I would be hard-pressed to take him out, let alone the fierce mount he rode upon.

 _But wyvern riders had a crippling weakness to magic in the games, didn't they?_

I didn't know if that carried over to reality, but it was a better idea than trying to match him with my plain iron sword.

The wyvern rider let out a shout, one echoed with a roar by his mount, and then swung his halberd.

It was fast. Even reinforced as I was, I could quickly see that I was only barely faster than him.

Still, barely faster was still faster.

I immediately crouched and dashed forward, avoiding the attack at the last moment and paying the price with a few shaved hairs.

In that fraction of time where I dodged, the wyvern's underbelly was exposed to me. And, knowing what I did about dragons, that was my chance.

I quickly drew my sword and lashed out, carving a line in the wyvern's belly. Its blood, a warm and viscous liquid that almost burned, splashed onto me. Blood that I could use.

A surge of darkness emerged around me again, enveloping the wyvern and its rider. Blood was converted to mana, and that mana was instantly converted to strength.

When the wyvern rider finished his pass, both man and beast crashed into the ground, shattering into nothing more than bone dust.

Yet, despite the morbid and terrifying scene, the remaining soldiers didn't so much as flinch. Already arrows were flying through the air interspersed with an array of fire balls and dark magic that blacked out the sky.

I kicked off the ground, sending myself flying forwards at the group of archers and mages before they could react. Moving faster than they had expected, the barrage of attacks crashed down into the ground behind me and left them open.

"By Grima, you fools-! Must I do everything myself?!"

I heard the enemy commander call out again but ignored him, cutting down as many of the mages and archers as I could with my sword. Despite my speed though, they quickly caught on to my actions and beat a hasty retreat. Before long, I was standing there alone, with the closest enemy being the enemy general.

He gave me a long look before scoffing. "You're pretty good to have lived for so long! If Ylisse had even another of you, we might have lost. But-" The general reached to his side and drew a massive broadsword. That act was followed by donning a helmet and taking a step that shook the ground. "You face Gazak, Plegia's greatest general! This is where you fall, along with the weak Exalt's country!"

I didn't say anything, only raising my sword in reply. I also made sure to keep a careful eye out on the other Plegian soldiers. Despite the general's act of advancing by himself for a duel, I wasn't naive enough to believe the other soldiers would just idly stand by and wait.

As if proving my point, shadows streaked across the ground, cast by wyvern riders directly bypassing me to head towards the castle.

There wasn't anything I could do about that though, so I focused on the task at hand.

I briefly evaluated the enemy general. Gazak was a name I wasn't familiar with. He was probably just a nameless opponent that had been easily cut down in the later chapters while the Shepherds headed towards Plegia.

But just because he was nameless in the game didn't mean I could take him down easily.

My eyes tracked his every movement, and from them, I could tell that he wasn't one to be taken lightly. Which made perfect sense. A person that had become a general, who had gone through a promotion even if it was an early one still possessed strength far outstripping what I could contest with at the moment.

I knew my limits very well. This battle was one I couldn't win. Not only that, but I was quickly running out of mana to fuel my reinforcement. The complications emerging from layering spells, it seemed.

But I didn't need to win, only stall.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Gazak's roar. "Die!"

Despite being in heavy platemail, the man moved with as much speed as I did, if not a fraction faster. He quickly closed the distance between us and swung his sword in a domineering vertical blow.

My eyes grew wide, and I quickly brought up my sword to parry the blow-

 _CRACK._

"Hah! Did you think you could block my sword with that puny thing!?" Gazak laughed and drew his sword back for another slash.

I narrowed my eyes, quickly reassessing the situation at hand. A glance at my sword revealed it to be cracked all over, unable to contest with the general's broadsword. An unfortunate consequence of physics rearing its ugly head at an inappropriate time. In its current state, even trying to strike Gazak's armor would shatter it, let alone attempting another parry.

I leapt back, an attempt to increase the distance between us, but Gazak matched my retreat with an advance every bit as swift.

"Oh no you don't!" His words were punctuated by that broadsword cleaving through the air again.

 _No choice._

I was too close to avoid the attack, so all I could do was swing my sword once again in an attempt to parry.

There was the sound of metal shattering. As expected, the iron sword's durability was exhausted. Still, it lasted long enough for me to divert the broadsword and avoid the attack.

The moment my sword shattered, I tried to use Blood and Mana conversion on the general. Darkness gathered around the man, and I felt my reserves replenish a small margin as it did-

"Trying to use dark magic on me? Hah!"

-And then an armored boot kicked out from it, sending me flying through the air.

I heard and felt a few ribs crack, more doing so as I crashed into the ground. It seemed that even with reinforcement, I wasn't a match for him.

 _Dammit Sofia. Now would be a good time to show up!_

I forced myself back on my feet, knowing that not doing so would lead to my death.

The ground trembled as Gazak advanced towards me. "Die!"

-I couldn't move in time. As wounded as I was, and with my low reserves, I was barely able to stand, let alone dodge.

There was a shadow dropping from above, and then the sound of a sword scraping against a shield.

I let out a sigh of relief as I looked up to my savior. "About time you got here-"

The words stopped in my throat when I saw who it was standing off against Gazak. "...Donnel?!"

It was Donnel, not Sofia who had come to my rescue. That alone threw me for a loop. But then I realized what he had equipped.

He still had on his tin pot helmet, but in addition to that... Blue armored plate mail, a tower shield along his left arm and silver long sword in his right. That wasn't the outfit of a villager, but rather-

"Yeehaw! Looks like I got here just in the nick of time, Hoopa!"

I blinked, still not believing my eyes. "Since when did you become a Hero?"

Donnel kept his eyes on Gazak, who had retreated a few steps upon seeing Donnel easily block his blow, but tilted his head slightly back and said, "Since I figured out what my Pa's rock did. Boy was I surprised when it shot lightning at me... but that's enough of that. You just sit tight there, Hoopa. It's my turn to help ya out now."

 _His Pa's rock?_

I frowned. Was there something like that in the game? _...Right. Nowi's conversation with him mentioned something like that. They never really went into what it was... but could it have been an Earth Seal?_

In the old games, they didn't have Master Seals, but rather class specific items to promote. The only one that could promote multiple classes was the Earth Seal, which, now that I thought about it, did look like a rather odd rock...

The sound of clashing steel drew my attention again.

Donnel was keeping Gazak on his toes, the young villager... no, the young hero easily seeing through the man's moves and possessing both the strength and speed to stand on equal ground with him.

Being hard pressed, Gazak growled and said, "Dammit! Since when did Ylisse have so many hidden aces!?" At the same time, he brought his sword down to try and cleave Donnel in two.

Donnel blocked with his shield and then said, "How 'bout this! Aether!"

 _-What?_

Gazak looked as surprised as I did and frantically brought up his shield to block.

-But how could that stop Aether, which combined Luna's armor piercing damage with Sol's restorative abilities?

Donnel's sword glowed with what looked like azure flames before swinging up towards Gazak. Upon meeting the general's shield, the sword cut through it with ease before splitting through Gazak himself.

"Im...possible..." The general managed to get out those last words before collapsing on the ground in a pool of blood.

Donnel flicked his sword and then turned towards the other Plegian soldiers. "Come get some!"

For a moment, everyone froze, still struck by the impossible sight Donnel's last attack.

One of the mages was the first to break the silence. "Wasn't that... Aether?"

"No way! That's impossible! Only the Exalted line should be able to use it!"

"But the blue flames, the way he cut through general Gazak's Pavise! What else could it be?!"

A seed of doubt had been placed in the hearts of the Plegian soldiers, preventing them from doing anything more than stand there and stare.

I walked over to Donnel and then converted Gazak's spilled blood into some mana, enough to heal my body.

Seeing me do that was the last straw. With their leader done for and faced with impossible opponents, the Plegian soldiers turned tail and ran...

"YOUR END HAS COME!"

Only to have their retreating path obstructed by the Shepherds, with Chrom leading the vanguard. A few moments later, there was the sound of pegasus wings, and then Robin landed on the ground nearby.

He took a look at me and said, "You've seen better days."

I laughed, _invictus_ fading away. "About damned time you guys got here."

Donnel looked at Robin and said, "Who's that, Hoopa?"

"Ah, he's the tactician of the Shepherds. Trust me when I say we've got this in the bag now that he's here."

Robin scratched his head. "That's giving me a bit too much praise, but thanks. Ah, right. Where's Lady Emmeryn? We rushed back as fast as we could when we got her letter that she was going to parley with Plegia."

His words caused my stomach to drop. "...Emmeryn?"

Donnel snapped his fingers. "That's right! One of the maids told me you'd be heading here to save her Grace, Hoopa! Knowing you, you've got her secreted away with one of your awesome dark magic spells, right?"

The earnest way that Donnel spoke didn't make me feel any better.

Robin seemed to have noticed something was off. "...Hoopa. Lady Emmeryn... is safe, isn't she?"

"...Emmeryn, she-"

Chrom was heading this way, the Shepherds having made quick work of the Plegians. In the distance, I could see a few soldiers with the insignia of Regna Ferox as well.

...What could I say to them? That they were too little too late? That I tried to save Emmeryn, but that I was too slow and that even now her body was missing?

"Hoopa!" Chrom called out and gave me a wide smile. "Glad to see that you're in good health." He saw my empty left sleeve and quickly said, "Er, well as good health as you can be considering the circumstances." He took a look around the surroundings and said, "I don't see Emm anywhere... did you manage to change her mind about parleying with Plegia, Hoopa?"

I didn't say anything.

"...Hoopa?" Chrom looked at me, his good humor quickly fading. "Say something. Emm's fine, right?" With my lack of response, he turned towards Robin. "Robin? Do you know anything?"

The tactician shook his head. "No more than you do. Hoopa was about to tell me what happened when you got here."

"I see." Chrom looked at me again. "Well, Hoopa? Where's Emm?"

By this point, the Shepherds had made their way over as well.

I saw Lissa standing next to a taciturn Lon'qu. Maribelle and Ricken arguing about something or another. Sully and Stahl casually chatting, while Virion tried to get a word in edgewise between them. Vaike and Miriel, with the latter handing back the former his axe. Sumia calmly petting her Pegasus, with Cordelia standing next to her. Gaius, Panne, Frederick... even Gregor and Nowi for some reason were present.

Seeing Chrom address me, I was suddenly the focus of attention, the entire group waiting on my word.

"...Lady Emmeryn, her Grace..."

Hearing my somber tone, Chrom took a step back, his face twisting in shock. "No."

"Earlier today, she came out to parley with the Plegian forces. And the Plegians who were to speak to her..."

"No." Chrom shook his head. "No. Hoopa... you can't mean..."

I closed my eyes, unable and unwilling to meet the gazes staring back at me. "They cut her down where they stood and threw her corpse to the ground for all of Ylisstol to see."

"NO!"

I felt my shirt being tugged and I opened my eyes.

Chrom had grabbed my shirt, pulling me close to him and was staring at me with intense eyes. "Don't lie to me, Hoopa!"

I laughed, a sound pitiful even to my ears. "Why would I lie about this, Chrom? Too late... I got there too late. And now, not even her body's left. All I could do was stall the soldiers as best as I could until you arrived."

"You-!"

He was angry. Chrom was in denial and looking to lash out at anyone he could.

I saw him pull his fist back, ready to knock me to the ground.

I didn't try and stop him. I deserved it, after all.

But he didn't. He let me go, taking a step back, and let out a ragged breath. "You... did your best, I suppose."

"Chrom... he's kidding, right?" Lissa's soft voice. "Emm... she can't be dead. I mean, we arrived just in time!"

Chrom turned towards her. "Lissa."

"DON'T YOU LISSA ME!"

Chrom was dumbstruck at Lissa's outburst.

The princess ran towards me and said, "You! You're lying, right? Emm's safe, right?"

I didn't respond. How could I?

"You saved Maribelle, how come you couldn't save my sister?!"

Again, I didn't say anything. She was right.

"WHY WON'T YOU SAY ANYTHING!?"

Faced with Lissa's furious outburst, I could only stand there in silence and endure it.

"ANSWER ME, DAMMIT! ANSWER ME! ...Why won't you answer me...?!"

"...Lissa, darling. Leave him be."

Maribelle was the one to rescue me from the predicament. She walked up towards Lissa and placed a hand on her shoulder. "As amazing as Sir Hoopa might be, even he couldn't have stopped this."

Her words were meant to be comforting. I was sure of that. Maybe even a sort of apology. But even then...

 _Your fault._

They did nothing to absolve my guilt. And it was with a heavy heart that I followed Chrom and the others back to the castle.

 _This was your fault._

The pained look in Chrom's eyes, Lissa's broken sobs. Robin's blank gaze.

I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't do anything to change the past. All I could do from this point on was...

 _...Become strong enough that this never happens again._

* * *

A/N: So I was struck by a sudden desire to write this chapter this morning and couldn't stop until it was finished.

...I really wish stuff like that happened more often with my other stories as well...

Anyway, we see a change in mindset, the beginning of Dark Magic exploits, as well as the shifting of certain events.

Sofia's nowhere to be found, as well as Emmeryn's body.

We also advance into Book 2, something I forgot to put last chapter. For anyone who missed it, Book 1 is called "A Drop in the Waves of Time". Make of it what you will.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review if you want. It's optional, but I do enjoy them whenever they appear.

Either way, until the next!


	12. In which our hero angsts

In which our Hero angsts...

...and begins creating various exploits

* * *

After the bad news I delivered, the Shepherds returned to the Barracks in a solemn silence. Once there, Chrom left to the castle with Robin to prepare to meet with Flavia and Basilio, who would be coming later that day after the initial deployment of Regna Ferox soldiers.

I had simply followed the Shepherds without a word back to the Barracks, and then followed Chrom back to the castle.

No words. I could have stayed at the Barracks, but all I could do was return to my room. Before I knew it, I was sitting back at my desk, staring out at the empty courtyard.

It was night time. The rest of the day passed like a blur for me.

Emmeryn was dead. Now that the adrenaline rush and dark magic faded away, I was left with only that fact.

Emmeryn was dead, and it was my fault. Sofia was gone. Donnel had went to go interact with the Shepherds, now officially a part of it.

As for myself...

I kept staring out of the window into the darkness. The courtyard was bathed in moonlight. It reminded me of the few times I had walked around it with Emmeryn, having idle conversations. Of the few times we would talk together and look out at the courtyard. Of how she seemed to listen to me talk about my home and how it sounded like a wonderful place to live.

But now she was dead. Her, and her ideal for peace as well.

With the Exalt murdered by Plegians, even if they asked for peace, they wouldn't have it. Ylisse would be out for blood now. Emmeryn had gone out to meet with the Plegian soldiers unarmed and unattended. Some would call it foolish, others naive, but she had acted in accordance with her will, made a gamble, and failed for it.

Emmeryn trusted too much in the inherent good nature of man. While she was aware of its dark side, in the end, she chose to believe that words would win out over a cold heart.

...But they didn't. And now there wasn't even a corpse to show for it.

The root of this event came back to myself. Because I had interfered, Emmeryn was dead. But I couldn't change that. No matter how much I wished otherwise, there was no magic I could use to turn back time or bring back the dead.

...Not yet anyway.

-A thought hit me.

Emmeryn's body was gone. At the same time, so was Sofi- So- ... who was it that I was talking about?

I frowned. Something was off. There was someone I was forgetting, something important at the time, someone that played an important role, who had just trained me recently...

I couldn't remember.

Because I couldn't remember, I felt relief.

A normal person wouldn't have felt that. To have forgotten some vital piece of their memory... that would bring panic normally. Panic, anger, distrust. However, in this time and place...

 _Success._

A sign of success. If I couldn't remember, that meant that someone had purposefully modified my memory. And seeing as I remembered everything else that had occurred and was only forgetting a single person, it meant that a plan was at foot, one that most likely would have been put into action by me from the future.

...Hopefully.

It seemed like something I would do. Seeing no chance at victory, taking advantage of the past to arrange events to my liking... Now the question was what I would want myself to be doing right now.

If it was me... then that meant that I would be trusting myself to act in the future. That I would have believed myself to be capable of the task at hand.

...Which meant that I had to be capable in the first place. Seeing as events had managed to loop around like this, it meant that I had become able to modify events to this level in the first place, which meant that I had to put in a lot of training right now in order to make the loop stable.

 _Or you hope so._

It could also mean that there was a third party at hand, perhaps some other Outrealmer with the ability to modify memories. And that they had decided it would be a good idea to steal Emmeryn's corpse for some reason or another.

...But in either case, that meant that I simply had to be stronger. Strong enough to prevent any of this from ever happening again. Strong enough to singlehandedly change the tides of history.

-Delusional. I would be the first to admit that such an ideal was delusional. Unless I was a special snowflake, granted special powers, or had plot armor like most self inserts, I would die.

...But at this point, there was no returning home. For better or for worse, I was stuck here. And if I was stuck here, then I might as well do what I can to make a difference... because my life had no other meaning.

"And the first thing to do would be some training."

I got out my pen and paper. Ideas. I needed ideas and exploits to increase my strength as fast as possible in the shortest time span. Spells and enhancements that would be long term instead of passive.

Time was not on my side...

"...But I could make it, couldn't I?"

I focused on my mana. Despite using it all up earlier, it had been restored, and to a greater capacity as well. It looked like the mana taken through Blood and Mana conversion didn't just temporarily increased my pool of mana, but rather permanently expanded it.

That was good. It meant I had more to work with.

"Great power comes at great sacrifices. What I am willing to give up, what I am willing to forsake..."

I wrote down my ideas to improve my power and then set them into motion.

* * *

The next day came before I knew it. While I had managed to gain some more trump cards to play, I still had no decisive powers that could change the tide of battle.

Aether. Lethality. Astra. Sol. Luna... the sword skills that I needed to master if I wanted to be able to make some effect in battle.

I had spent the night writing down everything I knew about them in a way to replicate them. At the moment, I didn't have a chance, but soon...

'She' had said that the key to dark magic was through the sword. I didn't understand at the time, but now... I think I did.

Mastery of the sword and the skills that came with it would lead to an increased mastery of mana manipulation. I had seen it when Donnel used Aether previously. The attack was able to have such a great effect mostly because it somehow drew upon his mana and caused an ignition process in the ambient mana. Then it was bound into the process and channeled to create Aether.

So I had a plan of action. Unfortunately, the time to implement it was not now.

Chrom would be having the meeting with Flavia and Basilio at this time. Knowing him, at any moment now-

"Hoopa."

-He would be here to talk.

Chrom knocked at the door and said, "Are you awake?"

His voice sounded weary, though it was still steady. It seemed that Emmeryn's death still hung heavy on him, but he was making his way through it.

"I'm awake."

The exchange brought me back to memories of the first few days I was here. If I remembered, correctly, Chrom had entered in pretty much the same way.

Chrom opened the door. He saw me sitting at my desk with a stack of papers and a smile crossed his face. "I see you and Robin have a common habit."

"Oh?"

Chrom nodded. "When I went to get him he was in pretty much the same state."

"I see."

Robin must not have taken Emmeryn's death very well. Knowing him, he was probably going over every scenario, every tactic he had chosen to see if there had been a way to arrive faster, a method to persuade Emmeryn, a means to have averted this tragedy.

...I was the same, except that I had a more certain means of doing so. Only, it would require time. Time and power that I didn't have.

"In any case," Chrom said. "Hoopa... no, Emissary Hoopa."

I turned to look at Chrom, my face set in a serious expression. "Prince Chrom." I answered his formal address with one of my own.

"For returning to Ylisstol in its time of need and doing your utmost best to defend it... I would like to thank you. Ylisse itself would like to thank you. But... I'm afraid that at this time, there's much to be done."

I nodded. "Of course. The war with Plegia comes first."

Chrom gave a curt nod in response, though I didn't miss the glint of anger in his eyes. "That's right. We have to do away with that Mad King Gangrel before anything else. And that brings me to why I got you." Chrom sighed. "I'm afraid that Ylisse can no longer provide you shelter. Or rather that it is no longer a safe place for you to stay. I had hoped that it would be, but now that Plegia has gone so much as to bring the war to our footsteps..."

"Don't worry Chrom. I completely understand."

And I did. With the war started, Ylisse would need to divert its resources to funding the campaign. There would be no time or people to spare for a foreigner like me.

Chrom nodded. "I'm glad you do. Ah, don't take that as me kicking you out though. Emm... she would be kicking me for doing that, especially after all you've done for us. It's just that..." Chrom looked troubled.

"You don't need to worry about me Chrom. After all, I'll be joining the Shepherds."

That brought Chrom up short. "...What?"

I gathered my papers and then tucked them away in my bag. Spell sheets, pre-created rituals... useful items. Ones that I couldn't afford to lose. When I was sure they were safely stored away, I turned back to Chrom and said, "Like I said, I'm joining the Shepherds. You don't need to worry about me freeloading. I'll earn my place."

Chrom paused. "...Are you sure, Hoopa? I mean, with all you've done... I wouldn't want to drag you into our affairs."

I glanced out at the courtyard and sighed. "It became more then just your affairs the moment I got here, I'm afraid. And besides, I've recently learned that there's no way home for me."

"...I'm sorry to hear that."

And he was. I could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"Which is all the more reason why I'm going to join the Shepherds, Chrom. For better or for worse, this country is my country now. And besides that, Emmeryn's death was my fault to begin with."

Chrom started to argue, but I cut him off before he could say anything.

"And don't say that it wasn't. I know that you think that, even if you don't want to believe it. After all, if I hadn't gone ahead and saved Maribelle that day, Gangrel wouldn't have had a reason to invade."

Well, he would have, but it wouldn't have been as extreme.

Chrom immediately shook his head. "You're wrong, Hoopa. I would never blame you for-"

"You would. ...And you should." _After all, I do._ "But enough of that. You're going to have a war council with the Regna Ferox Khans soon, right?"

"Huh? How did you know about that?"

"You mentioned it yesterday. Anyway, do you mind if I join in? I'll see if I can provide some help from what I know."

"...Alright. I was just about to head there now. Follow me."

Chrom led the way and I followed.

* * *

The war council took place in a room that was fittingly called the war chambers. It was a large, circular room filled with maps of all sorts, as well as a large table in the center, no doubt for everyone to sit around and discuss.

In short, imagine just about any war room ever and you would have it.

When we walked in, three people were already present.

The first person I noticed was Robin, hunched over a map in the middle. Pieces that resembled troops were splayed all across the map, and the white-haired tactician's brow was furrowed as he examined it.

Like myself, he seemed to have stayed up all night, the dark circles present underneath his eyes.

"And if we were to do this... hm. No, that will leave us open..."

Typical of his job, he was devising strategies even as I entered, mumbling to himself and completely ignoring everything else.

The other two I hadn't met yet, though they were familiar from my experiences with the game.

Flavia was a woman with a honed body the color of one who spent a lot of time out doors, namely a sun kissed bronze. Her hair was a curly sort of blonde kept in a ponytail. And surprisingly enough, she was wearing the armor she did in the game, a crimson version of the Hero armor.

Basilio was a giant of a man. I didn't know whether it was because of his class as a warrior, which had always been hulking monsters of men in the games, or simply because of his natural growth. Either way, the game didn't do him much justice in portraying his size.

The two khans immediately turned towards us when we entered the room.

Basilio was the first to speak. "Who's the Chon'sin?"

"Chon'sin?" Chrom looked a bit confused at the term.

"I'm not Chon'sin, though I suppose I can see why you would think that." After all, in a world predominantly filled with European type people, someone like me would stick out. First time in a while that had been pointed out though. "I'm Hoopa, the Emissary to Ylisse from the United States." I gave the two Khans a small bow. "Pleasure to meet you two."

"Hoh?" Flavia gave me a cursory glance before turning back to Chrom. "You didn't tell me you found some more allies, Chrom. Though I've never heard of these United States before..."

"I'm not surprised," I said. "It's... pretty far away."

Like dimensions apart. Maybe even millennia, if space-time shenanigans held true.

"Oh? Then I assume there won't be any support from this so called United States?"

Flavia looked like she was skeptical of my claims.

"Hoopa is a friend of Ylisse, Khan Flavia," Chrom said. "And he's here to provide some insight into the war with Plegia."

Flavia shrugged. "If you say so."

Chrom took a seat at the table, gesturing for me to do the same. I did, and then we were all gathered around the table looking at the Plegian landscape on the map before us.

"How's the planning coming along, Robin?" Chrom asked.

"Hm? Ah, Chrom." Robin looked up, as if drawn from a trance. "It's... going, at least. Flavia and Basilio have been useful in answering my questions about their army."

"Only right we should," Basilio said. "We might be bearing the brunt of the combat in this war, but we're not going to do it without a proper strategy."

"Oh be quiet, you oaf," Flavia said. "Remember who's the one in power?"

"Tch. Only because you got these guys to fight for you."

Flavia scoffed. "Says the one who hired someone who could pass as the fabled Hero King himself. But enough of that. Robin, have you figured out a plan yet?"

All eyes were on the tactician. "A plan... I suppose. It's... you'll have to trust me on this though."

Chrom smiled. "You've already got it, Robin."

The Khans gave a look between themselves and shrugged. "You've done well enough so far," Flavia said. "I don't see why we can't trust you for the time being. Though remember that Feroxi lives are at stake just as much as Ylissean."

Robin nodded.

I was quiet and observed, sensing the atmosphere one I didn't really fit in with.

"In that case..." Robin circled the map around the mountains to the east of Plegia, as well as the border between Regna Ferox and Plegia. "This is what we'll do. As you might know already, I can 'see' the battle field from a bird's eye view and direct our troops."

I saw the others nod at that, but as for myself, I couldn't hold back from saying, "What?"

Robin glanced at me. "Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, but I can... actually, we'll talk on that later. Back to the plan..." Robin narrowed his eyes, as if staring at an invisible list. "I have a general feel for all the soldiers we have on hand, as well as the ones that Plegia will deploy. If everyone follows my orders, we should be able to win this war without casualties. We WILL be able to win this war without casualties. The problem is simply if they will listen."

Flavia shrugged. "I suppose so. But don't you worry, Robin. This old oaf and I will make sure no one ignores your orders."

Basilio nodded. "If I've learned anything from being with you guys recently, it's that trusting Robin is the way to go. We'll have them sorted out, no worries."

Robin nodded. "Alright, then to start with I'll describe the over all strategy and plan of attack. Tactics will come in the midst of battle, but they'll be relying on these formations..."

After that, Robin and the others talked about some strategies and overall timeline for the next few days. It was long and drawn out, but in short boiled down to two tasks.

One, the Feroxi soldiers would pressure Plegia on its northern border before charging in. This would divert a large portion of the forces away from the center of the country.

Once done, this would allow for an elite group of soldiers to charge straight through Plegia to fight Gangrel himself and put an end to him. All the while, Robin would be directing the combat through his special ability to send messages to any allied troop.

I would call his newly found powers utterly broken if not for the fact that we would be charging into enemy territory where they had the home field advantage.

All in all, a good plan. Listening to them there, I found no faults with it except for something that they seemed to have forgotten.

After the group finished another round of discussion, I said, "The plan's good and all, but you forgot about the Risen."

"Hm?" Robin turned towards me. "What about them?"

Four focused gazes met my own. It would be a lie to say that wasn't unnerving. Still, I persevered and said, "Plegia has a way of summoning and controlling them. While this plan is good, it only accounts for the Plegian soldiers, right? What about the situation where Risen suddenly appear when the army is on the verge of defeat?"

Basilio narrowed his eye. "And how do you know this, boy?"

Chrom looked at me. "Yes... how _do_ you know this, Hoopa?"

"...As you know, I'm from a country far away from here. The magic there is very developed, enough to see vast distances, which is why I knew about Ylisse even before I ever arrived in it."

Chrom nodded, though the Khans looked skeptical.

"A place like that exists?" Flavia said.

I waved my hand. "Believe me or not, the fact is that I know a bit about the Plegian situation and their trump cards."

Seeing that I had the full attention of everyone, I continued. "Robin is right, and the plan is sound. What we need to do is simply be wary of a few things. One would be the dark flier that remains at Gangrel's side, Aversa. She's the one who is able to summon forth Risen, and even capable of resurrecting the Dread Lords of times past given enough preparation."

"Dread Lords?" Robin asked.

"Yes," I answered. "They're-"

"They're reanimated corpses of warriors that once had great renown during their lives," Basilio finished. "I see. If that's true, this might be tougher than we thought."

I nodded. "Right. A single one of those could probably take out an entire platoon of soldiers, even through careful maneuvering."

At that point I was pulling things out of my ass, but from the memories I had of facing Aversa in that chapter in the game with some woefully unprepared characters... yeah, it wasn't unlikely.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Flavia asked.

"...That's a very good question."

I hadn't thought that far ahead.

Flavia scoffed. "And here I was thinking we had another brilliant tactician on hand. Still, foreknowledge is better than no knowledge."

Robin was quiet and mulled over what I had just said. "...Hm. We shouldn't have to worry about that. If anything, that dark flier will summon the Dread Lords when we arrive with Gangrel. From what you said, Mark, it should take some significant preparations to create the Dread Lords, correct?"

"That's right."

"Then they'll most likely be reserved as Gangrel's personal guards instead of deployed to the war front. Knowing the king's personality, as well as that of the dark flier's, it's likely that all of their aces will be kept in the capital waiting for us."

Basilio nodded. "The dastard knows Chrom won't take this lying down. Still, if that's true, is it still a good idea to charge in to meet him?"

Chrom narrowed his eyes. "There's no other choice. Gangrel has to die."

Robin nodded. "I would have been concerned before... but with Hoopa here, we should be alright."

 _Huh?_

"What are you talking about, Robin?" Flavia said. She gave me another look. "I don't see anything special about your Emissary."

"It's exactly because of that. You might not know it, but Hoopa was able to hold off an entire squad of elite troops before we arrived."

"Oh?" Flavia reexamined me and tilted her head. "Impressive."

"...It's nothing much," I said. "And I'm still weak in either case."

After all, I almost died to some nameless boss.

"...I'm not sure where you're going with this, Robin," Chrom said. "Hoopa might be strong, and his magic is formidable, but he's not enough to change the outcome of the war, is he?"

"True," Robin said. "He might not be yet... but I've got a feeling that you will be soon, won't you, Hoopa?"

I frowned. It was almost like Robin _knew_ about my magic... that or he was just scarily perceptive. Might be a combination of both if he really could see the world like the game. I'd hazard a guess that my unit info showed some pretty useful intel.

"...Maybe. It's going to take some time before any results show."

Robin nodded. "That's fine. I believe that you should be ready before we arrive in Plegia. And there should be plenty of opportunities for you to increase your mana along the way."

"...Right." I reexamined Robin, closely looking at his eyes as he spoke. "And you think it will be enough to tip the scales?"

Robin's eyes flitted to his left, quickly scanning left and right.

"...It will."

That was confirmation of it. Robin could read descriptions of people and saw the world like the game.

...That was both comforting and slightly concerning.

"I'm curious to what this magic will be that allows you all to turn the tides around," Flavia said. "Almost makes me want to take to the field myself along you Shepherds."

"Oh no you don't." Basilio narrowed his eye at Flavia. "If I have to charge with the rest of the soldiers, so do you."

Flavia laughed. "I'm joking of course. After all, Chrom should be the one to take down that mad king. Well, it looks like it's getting late. I'll be taking this oaf and heading back to Regna Ferox to make preparations." She turned back to Robin. "Will you be needing any of our troops?"

"...No. The Shepherds should be enough to make it through," the tactician said.

"Then we wish you the best of luck on your part of the plan. Until we meet again on the fields of war."

With those words, Flavia and Basilio left, leaving Chrom, Robin, and I remaining in the room.

Once they did, Chrom slumped to his chair. "...It's good that we have things sorted out. But... that won't bring Emm back, will it?"

Robin matched Chrom's slump with a long sigh. "We can only do our best. Emm... she wanted to end this peacefully, but-"

"But that Gangrel had to go and kill her. Dammit, Emm... I'm still not ready for this. Why didn't you wait?"

"...If it's any consolation," I said, "her last thoughts were about you and Lissa before she went off, Chrom."

"...How would you know that?"

I sighed. "I read her diary. It's a slim book she keeps in that room between her other books. Though it might still be on the table now that I think about it. ...It's how I found out that day that she had gone to parley with the soldiers without anyone knowing. If I had learned earlier..."

Chrom sighed. "...In any case, I'm going to have to make a speech to the people soon. Any chance that either Robin or you will come with me?"

Robin shook his head. "I'm not qualified to do that, Chrom, and you know it. Even though I'm your tactician... I doubt the people would look too kindly upon someone like me addressing them after recent events."

Chrom frowned, but then realized what Robin was implying. "Ah, that's right... Even though you aren't a Plegian, you share enough features with them to send a wrong message. ...But Robin-"

"No buts. You need to calm the people Chrom. And I need to go make plans. If you'll excuse me."

With that, Robin made an abrupt exit, leaving only me and Chrom behind.

"Well, Hoopa? Will the Emissary make an appearance to the people alongside me?"

"...You sure it will work out?"

"I'm sure Emmeryn would have wanted you to help if that's any solace."

Right. Speaking in front of thousands of people about a looming war that might or might not have been a direct result of my consequences. No pressure.

"...Fine. Though you make the speech first."

* * *

The speech was made on top of a balcony overlooking the entire kingdom. Magical runes amplified Chrom's voice to resound throughout the kingdom. He spoke of Emmeryn's sacrifice, of Plegia's betrayal, and of the divine mission they had to seek retribution. However, he also reiterated that he would not force this task upon anyone who wasn't willing, only that he would be personally leading a charge against Gangrel beginning the following day.

The speech was made at sunset, the crimson light giving Chrom a heroic visage and seemingly amplifying his charisma. Even though Ylisse should have been against any war or combat after the events of Chrom's father, there were no men or women not affected by Chrom's words, and I saw a steady stream of applicants already head towards the castle to join the army.

"...As you may know, we have recently hosted an emissary in Ylisse from a far off country. Though his arrival was abrupt and borne of our country's concerns, he remained staunch and has declared his stake in this war as our ally. So, Emissary Hoopa. Would you care to speak some words to the people?"

I was jolted out of my thoughts by Chrom's words.

We were standing on the balcony. Chrom was turning towards me with an expectant look. Behind him was the crowd of people in the kingdom, a mass of over thousands of individuals.

I gulped, unnerved at the thought of having to address them. But before I could so much as retreat, Chrom had already stepped towards me and not so gently nudged to the front of the balcony.

Looking down upon the faceless masses, my heart froze. Crippling fear and nerves spilled out, preventing me from saying or doing anything.

Chrom seemed to have noticed and started to step forward again to help me, but before he did I felt a calm settle down into my mind.

This was nothing. Would be nothing.

"People of Ylisse." My voice came out, loud and strong. Something that almost startle me when I heard it, but I ignored it and continued talking. "It has been weeks since your Exalt first granted me shelter in this country. Weeks where I have been shown nothing but kindness and hospitality."

I paused for a moment, recalling all that had been done for me while I was here. "When I first arrived, I had been lost, confused, and fearful. I was in an unknown land with an unknown culture. It was only after arriving here in Ylisstol that I was able to regain my bearings. This was all due to your Exalt."

Emmeryn and Chrom both had done much for me.

"...And because of that, I am going to do my best to fight for this country. Plegia has taken your Exalt from you... and a dear friend from me. Emmeryn had desired peace. A time where Plegia and Ylisse may stand together! But as long as the mad king Gangrel remains on the throne, this will never occur!"

I was being swept up in the speech, and from below, I could see the crowd was as well.

I didn't know where the words were coming from, but I mentally thanked whatever force was allowing them to emerge before saying, "He brought war while we brought peace! He sent soldiers where we sent our Exalt! This betrayal of trust... it can only be repaid with blood! ...I know that Ylisse is still recovering from the last war against Plegia, and so I will not ask you to lend your swords to this cause. However, I will tell you that I will not rest until Gangrel has been slain, even if I must rise from the grave to do it myself!"

A roar burst out from the crowd, and I could hear them chanting.

"Emissary! Emissary! Emissary!"

With my words finished, I nodded and said, "Thank you."

With that, Chrom and I left.

* * *

"Not good with crowds, huh?" Chrom said as he walked alongside me.

After leaving the balcony, we were headed to the Shepherd's barracks. It was late now, and Chrom was planning to address the fact that we would be marching to Plegia the following morning. In the meanwhile, he was walking me back to show me my new room.

We were already inside the barracks, and currently heading to my room.

"I'm usually not, but..." I trailed off, recalling the strange state I had been in when addressing them. "...I think Emmeryn helped me there. When I thought about her, I just..." I sighed. "In any case, I'm just glad everything worked out."

Chrom nodded. "I am as well." He let out a relieved sigh. "I knew that leading another war with Plegia so soon after my father's would be unpopular. I had been worried about echoes of me being like him. But... with your support, it seems that doesn't have to occur now. After all, if even a foreign Emissary is willing to lay down his life for Ylisse, how could the people not do the same?" Chrom smiled. "Quite sly of you to do that by the way."

I sighed. "It wasn't intentional."

Chrom clapped my shoulder. "I know that, Hoopa, but I thank you regardless. Now we have no need to worry about the home front. With both the Feroxi reinforcement and more soldiers signing up for training, they should be able to hold the line even while we charge towards Gangrel."

"...Right."

We walked for a while longer before stopping at a door on the first level of the barracks. It had a clear view to the training grounds in the back. "Well, here's your room. I've already had the maids move in your belongings." Chrom patted my shoulder again and said, "Get some rest, friend. Tomorrow is when our journey will start..." A hint of anger flashed through Chrom's eyes. "And then that mad dog will be put down once and for all."

I nodded. "...Then, good night, Chrom."

Chrom waved and then headed through the halls, no doubt heading to his own room.

It was silent. The other Shepherds had long gone to sleep, preparing for the long march tomorrow. The barracks were quiet, save for the light sounds of various breathing that I could hear only because of my continually reinforced body.

For a few moments, I waited in the darkness, and then I walked over to the window. Without hesitation, I flung it open before leaping out into the darkness.

"Rest... I'll rest when I'm dead."

There was too much I had to make up for to be sleeping now. Too much I had to learn, obtain, improve.

I touched down on the grass below my window with a soft thud. Granted, my window was only a few feet above the ground, so it was to be expected.

The training field in the back of the barracks was similar to that of the castle's training ground, albeit smaller. A few training dummies were scattered about, though some seemed to have seen better days, split in half and reattached by twine. Chrom's doing no doubt, from what I remembered of the story.

"But that doesn't matter right now."

Right now, I had to train.

I pulled out a sheet from my bag. The ritual that would allow me to improve.

Blood, sweat, and tears. That was the sacrifice people usually paid to gain skills. Time was a factor as well, but it was a practically accepted truth that the more effort placed into a task, the more progress would be reaped as a consequence.

That would be the underlying principle in my training.

"Synthesize, Conviction."

I felt my mind still, becoming hyper focused. Improvement and nothing else. That was all I would allow.

i pulled out another sheet of paper, carrying upon it all that I knew about the various techniques in fire emblem. The first one that I would be learning...

"Astra. A five step sword attack that makes the user move at god speed to attack, preventing any immediate reaction."

The actual execution of the attack was something I didn't know, but one that I would figure out as long as the overarching principle remained in my mind.

And it did.

I let out a long breath and then drew the iron sword I had taken from the storehouse. "Training, begin."

With those words, my spell truly bound my mind. A self-geass that prevented me from stopping until I had obtained at least a passing semblance of the skill.

Mana surged and my body warmed as blood and mana intermingled to power the skill. Following that, my sword swung out through the night, reflecting the moonlight onto the grounds around me.

Once, twice, thrice-

Failure, failure, failure. A hundred times with no result. A thousand times that left my body aching and sore. Ten thousand times that left my hand bloody and torn from the sheer force I was holding my sword.

I slashed over and over until my hand could no longer hold onto the blade.

When it did, my spell ended, and my rational mind came back to me. Following that, an overwhelming pain hit my body and I collapsed on the ground.

"AR-" A scream started to emerge from my throat, but I forced it down through sheer will. Well, that and a healthy dose of _invictus._

I didn't know how long I laid there, but eventually I managed to crawl over to my bag and grab the vulneraries there.

Without hesitation, I doused my hand in its liquid, relishing at the cooling sensation numbing my hand. When it had recovered enough to hold things again, I grabbed the rest of the vulnerary and drank it.

My body began healing from the stress I had put it through. It wasn't fully recovered, but that wasn't my intention in the first place. It was only recovered enough to the point where I could continue moving.

With that done, I grabbed my sword and began swinging it again. But after a hundred times, I dropped out of my training trance, my sword clattering to the ground.

"Dammit! Stupid body, why won't you just move like I tell you to!"

I knew what I had to do, and I was sure that it was something I could execute. But my body wasn't willing catch up to my mind, even through my willpower.

I grit my teeth. Unacceptable. This was unacceptable. I couldn't allow myself to rest. Not while the fate of the Shepherds depended on me. Not while I _knew_ that there was a way I could fix everything. A way to brig Emmeryn back... but one that required me to become stronger.

 _Conviction_ refused to activate now, the damage to my body apparently too high to pay another price for improving. Even still, I grit my teeth and forced myself to pick up my sword.

Emmeryn had willingly walked to her death, hoping that it could bring peace. In the face of her will, her conviction, how could I do anything less?

I raised my sword again preparing to force my body through the motions even if it meant it broke.

-And that was fine as well. I had a plan to deal with that should the time come.

"Hm?" A questioning voice echoing through the otherwise empty training fields stopped me before I could begin the first form. "Sir Hoopa? Is that you?"

On instinct, I swung my sword in the direction of the voice and narrowed my eyes. "Who- oh."

A beautiful woman with long crimson hair that reminded me of forgotten autumn days. Someone who took my breath away just staring at her and made my heart race-

I forced those thoughts away and placed a smile on my face. "Lady... Cordelia, was it?"

She nodded. "I'm surprised you remember my name, Sir Hoopa."

"How could I forget? But... what are you doing out here this late?"

Cordelia looked over my body and then at the spilled vulnerary on the ground beside me. Her sharp eyes didn't miss the splashes of blood on the ground either. "...May I ask what you've been doing out here this late at night?"

"Nothing." An immediate answer.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "...Nothing, you say?"

I nodded. "That's right, nothing. So you can feel free to go back and sleep. We've a long day tomorrow, you know."

"I could say the same to you, Sir Hoopa. As an Emissary, your role no doubt requires even more importance than my own."

"...I'll be fine. I'm not doing anything too strenuous."

"Right. Nothing strenuous... then would you mind explaining the blood stains on the ground and your spilled vulnerary?"

I frowned, resisting the urge to yell at her. _Miss perfect, always being so good at everything-_

I clamped down at that irritation and let out a calm breath. "...Fine. I'm training."

"This late at night?" Cordelia asked. "And all by yourself?"

" _Yes._ " This time I wasn't able to hide my irritation. "Unlike _some_ people, Genius, my talent isn't high enough to get things on the first time through."

I saw her flinch at being addressed like that and felt a twinge of guilt. But that guilt was immediately suppressed by my anger at being interrupted.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to back to training so I can get this move down before we set off in a few hours."

I ignored her and raised my sword parallel to the ground before me, planning to begin the sequence of attacks again-

"Show me."

-But Cordelia interrupted me.

"What?"

Cordelia met my eyes and said, "Show me. You'll only get frustrated with yourself like this. If you show me what you're doing, I can-"

"I don't need your help!"

Cordelia flinched at me yelling her. Again, I felt a twinge of guilt, but I refused to acknowledge it.

"I... have to do this on my own. And a genius like you wouldn't understand, so just leave me alone already!"

Cordelia was silent for a few moments, staring at me with an unreadable expression in her eyes, but then nodded. "...Very well. If that is what you want, I will leave you be."

With those words, she immediately turned back towards the barracks and left me alone.

Without a doubt, I had ruined any and all chances to befriend her with my last exchange. That thought sent my heart plummeting a bit, but I ignored it like I ignored everything else.

"...Finally, she's gone. Dammit. If only I had her talent..."

Cordelia was good. Almost supernaturally so. From the times I had seen her practicing during my stay at Ylisstol in the past few days to the memories I had of the game. She always picked things up on the first try, improved the fastest...

"...Even with my spells and dark magic, I'm still nowhere as good."

I wasn't. Even with my hours practicing Astra, I could tell it would be days yet before I managed it. And even with all my training and trump cards, facing another enemy like Gazak would leave me dead, let alone any Dread Lords Aversa could summon.

"More. I need to go even further beyond. Even if my body bleeds, breaks, shatters... I can't stop here."

I swung my sword, trying once again to perform Astra and failing. "...Dammit!"

The sun was rising. Before long, the Shepherds would be heading down.

Seeing that, I grit my teeth and activated Blood and Mana conversion, this time using the ambient mana to convert into my blood rather than vice versa. At the same time, I used the principles i had learned from Nosferatu to turn that converted blood into my personal mana that could be used to heal my body.

Another exploit I had thought of. The conversion ratio was still small, but the ambient mana was always replenishing and held a quantity much higher than any human could hope to exhaust, so it was a perfect means for me to recover.

In a few minutes, my body was restored to its optimal form, leaving only a few phantom pains and the blood stains as a memory of what I'd gone through.

I glanced at the ground at the blood stains and let out a sigh. "Nothing I can do about those." We would be leaving soon in any case, so it wasn't like anyone would notice.

I picked up my bag and headed back to my room, all the while completely forgetting about the fact that Cordelia never told me why she was outside in the first place.

* * *

A/N: Aftermath, planning, and starting to mess with dark magic again. Also, Sofia's gone MIA, and memories of her seem to have vanished without a trace save for the fact that there was 'someone' there. Support conversation scenes woven into plot relevant details. At this point, we've got Chrom around 'B' and Cordelia at 'C'.

Up next, we'll probably be heading to Plegia and/or having more support scenes. Maybe. We'll see when I actually get around to writing it.

Hope it was an enjoyable read, leave a review if you did, and I'll bid farewell for now.

Until the next!


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